Faded Memories, Never Forgotten
by Gothic Raven
Summary: When Sakura was little, she was very close to the Uchiha's. After the masacre, she suddenly lost her memory and grew up feeling like a piece of her was missing. After forcidly joining the Akatsuki, she finds that Itachi was the piece she was missing.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. None of it belongs to me except my ooc (Nezzumi).

A/N: Just to let you all know this is my first fanfic ever, so please be nice. Your opinion matters a lot to me and is very much appreciated. Also, I've already completed this story and I'll update it once a week, sometimes more, but never less. : )

WARNING: Story may contain spoilers.

_**Prologue**_

_**Past Dreams**_

A group of young kids, around the age of six, circled around a two young girls. The kids each had small rocks in their hands. They all laughed.

"Nezzumi, Nezzumi. What kind of name is that?" A kid yelled, tossing the pebble at her.

She gasped as the pebble hit her leg, "Stop it!"

"Yeah, you're a loser!" Another kid joined in, and through his rock.

She through her hands up in defense, "I said, quite it!" She fell to her knees as her sapphire eyes changed to Sharingon's.

"Leave her alone!" A pink haired, green eyed child yelled. She ran into the middle of the circle and hugged Nezzumi.

All the kids just laughed, "Sakura. You two are always defending one another. You two are weak." One of the kids said.

"You'll never make it as a ninja! You should just quite now." He began to toss his rock but a hand grabbed his arm. A young boy, about seven, tightly gripped his arm.

All the kids gasped. "You better think twice before you through this rock."

"Brother!" The young girl in the middle yelled. Her eyes changed back to normal.

The kid instantly dropped the rock. "S-sasuke! This is your sister? We didn't know…"

An older boy suddenly appeared and instantly became angry as he saw the two small girls covered in cuts. "What's going on here?"

"Older brother," Sasuke began, "These jerks are messing with Nezzumi and Sakura."

Sakura quickly ran behind Itachi, and hugged him tightly. He was like an older brother to her. He always watched out for her.

The older boy smirked, "I think we should teach them a lesson." He turned his Sharingan on.

Everyone stepped back.

"No!" The boys looked over to their younger sister, "Sasuke, Itachi, we must keep peace."

Their expressions suddenly changed soft. Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breathe in, "I don't know…" He began. He opened his eyes and looked to Sasuke, "What do you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked to his younger sister. "I guess we could spare them, this once." Everyone sighed, "But…" Everyone became tense. He began again, "They should all apologize to Sakura and Nezzumi, and make it up to them by doing anything they ask."

Itachi smiled, "Hmm, sounds fair." He turned to everyone in the outer circle, "Sounds like a good deal for you all. You agree?" His look became deadly.

"Oh, yes. Yes. Sorry. We're sorry!" They all said at once, as they bowed apologetically. They all quickly ran away.

Once they were gone, Itachi looked to Sakura. He kneeled down in front of her and inspected her damage. He then scooped Nezzumi up in his arms and began to walk home. Sasuke and Sakura walked beside them. Sasuke looked from his younger sister to Sakura and noticed they held their heads down in shame. They walked up to their house and Itachi sat Nezzumi down. He ruffled her hair before entering the house. He was closely fallowed by Sasuke.

"I didn't need to be saved." She whispered to Sakura.

She chuckled and dug into her bag. She pulled out a long bandage. She began to wrap it around her cuts. "Oh yeah? I thought we looked pretty helpless."

Nezzumi instantly pulled her arm back. "I am not helpless. I'm just as strong as Sasuke or Itachi!" She yelled, and then paused for a moment, "Well, maybe not Itachi."

Sakura calmly smiled, "Yeah. I know that, Sasuke knows that, Itachi knows that, but no one else does. Now, that doesn't help much does it?" She grabbed her arm lightly and finished wrapping it. "There."

Nezzumi and Sakura sat on the porch, watching the sunset. "You know, Nezzumi…" Sakura began, "Your family is like my family."

Nezzumi nodded, "I know." She smiled, "You're my best friend Sakura! I know we'll be friends forever."

Sakura smiled, "We will. No matter what. We'll grow up together and we'll share everything."

"I know Itachi feels the same way too. And Sasuke, even though he doesn't show it."

The two girls began to laugh. They truly loved each other like sisters.

Suddenly three men approached them. They stood up and backed away cautiously. They ran into someone and turned around. It was Itachi. They quickly hid behind him. He looked from the men to his little sisters. "Sakura, go home." His voice was serious; she didn't have to be told twice. Itachi watched as she quickly made her way around the men and ran home.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Nezzumi?" He asked.

She didn't answer him. She just stared at the men.

"Nezzumi!" He grabbed her attention, "Isn't it your bed time?" He asked her, ruffling her hair. She nodded, and he pushed her inside, "Go."

She walked inside and ran to her room. She lied down and instantly fell asleep. Through out the night, Nezzumi tossed and turned. She whined. Beads of sweat made their way down her face. Suddenly, she jolted upright in her bed and screamed. Sasuke was the first to enter her room, but was soon fallowed by Itachi. Nezzumi cried hysterically. She was shaking with fear. Itachi tried to hold her but she became more scared and hid behind Sasuke. Itachi gasped at her reaction. "Nezzumi, what's wrong?"

"Y-you…you killed them! You killed them!" She yelled at her oldest brother. Itachi gasped inwardly, _Does she know my plans?_ He thought.

Sasuke looked between his brother and sister, "Killed who? Nezzumi, what are you talking about?"

"He—He killed Mother and Father! He killed them…he killed them in cold blood." She began to rock back and forth.

"Nezzumi, don't be ridicules! Itachi would never do something like that. You just had a bad dream." Sasuke comforted his sister.

Itachi said nothing, he pulled out a blue diamond-shaped locket. He handed it to Nezzumi. Nezzumi just stared at it.

"Brother!" Sasuke hissed, but Itachi held up a hand and hushed him.

"Nezzumi take it. We made this for you for you birthday, but you're special. You can have it early." He held it out to her.

Nezzumi cautiously accepted it. She carefully opened it. Inside were two pictures. On the left was a picture of Sasuke, Sakura and Itachi. On the right was a picture of the four of them. Itachi and Sasuke stood back-to-back. Itachi was holding Sakura up on his shoulders, and Nezzumi stood in between her brothers. Itachi was ruffling Nezzumi's hair and Sasuke made the peace sign with his fingers. Sakura was holding tightly onto Itachi and smooshed her face against Itachi's. She wore a big smile.

Nezzumi smiled and quickly hugged Itachi. Next she hugged Sasuke. "Thank you, guys. I'll wear it forever!"

"It's also from, Sakura!" Sasuke said, "She's gonna kill us when she finds out we gave it to Nezzumi with out her being here." He paused, "The locket was hers, but she wanted you to have it."

Nezzumi admired the locket even more.

Itachi took it from her hands and placed it around her neck. "There. Now, go back to bed." He got up and left the room. Sasuke shortly fallowed him.

Nezzumi stared at her necklace, and then quickly fell back asleep. The next morning Nezzumi woke up early. Itachi stood over her, glaring. Nezzumi sat up, "Older brother? Is something wrong?"

Suddenly his expression went back to normal and smiled, "Every things fine. Come with me." He commanded her.

She carefully got up and fallowed her brother. She grabbed her backpack on the way out of her room. "Where are we going?" She asked.

"I'm going to help you train." He said, as his expression saddened.

She stopped. "Train…Me? But Sasuke has been trying to train with you for a really long time. Don't you think you should…?"

"No." He interrupted, "You need to train. Teach you how to defend yourself."

"O-okay. You know best, I guess." She continued to fallow him.

They finally stopped at a big river. Itachi pushed Nezzumi toward the river. "Concentrate your charka." He told her, "Concentrate your charka to your feet, and you'll be able to walk on water."

Her eyes grew big with excitement. She instantly molded her hands together and concentrated hard. She then walked onto the water. She gasped, "Itachi! Look, I'm doing it!"

Itachi gasped, but kept his cool. "Very good. You got it on your first try. As expected from any Uchiha." He said.

Nezzumi smiled widely. Itachi smiled slightly, from the expression on his younger sister's face. Suddenly his head perked up. He examined the area around him. "Stay here." He said to Nezzumi, and disappeared.

Nezzumi ran around in circles on top of the water. She hummed a song and laughed. Suddenly she stopped. "Huh? What's that?" She carefully listened intensely as the sound came closer. "It sounds like the ocean…" Suddenly her eyes grew big with fear. A giant tidal wave rushed towards her. Her heart sped up quickly. Move, she told herself, Move! Suddenly her feet obeyed and she ran the opposite way. She ran a long distance before abruptly stopping. She had no where else to run. She hit a waterfall. She peeked over the edge and saw many sharp rocks more than seventy feet down. She cried, "Itachi." Her voice was week and barley made a noise. The wave came closer, too close. She held up her arms in defense, but that didn't keep the giant wave from sweeping her off her feet and plunging her down the waterfall. "Itachi!" She screamed as she freefell. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. She saw her brother look over the edge of the waterfall. Her eyes caught Itachi's. His eyes had no emotion, like they were dead. Finally he smirked and walked away, leaving her to die.

It was around midnight when Itachi calmly walked into his house. ANBU surrounded the family. His expression became worried. He looked from his parents to Sasuke. They were all crying. "Where's Nezzumi?" He asked. Sasuke got up and ran out of the room with tears in his eyes. His mother wouldn't make eye contact with him. She was holding a moist backpack. It had many rips in it. His eyes widened.

"Where's Nezzumi?" His father asked him, this time.

"What?" Itachi asked back.

"You were the last person to see her. Where is she?"

"I-I thought she came back here." He replied.

His father walked up to him and punched him, "Don't lie to me boy!" Itachi's mother held the backpack close to her body and cried. His father continued to yell, "She's dead. How could you let her die? All that was found of her was her backpack." He paused for a moment, "You killed her! You killed Nezzumi, didn't you? Your own sister!" He raised his fist to him.

"Stop!" His mother yelled. His father lowered his fist.

"I didn't kill her!" Itachi yelled back.

His father pushed him back. "Get out of here."

Itachi calmly, but lividly walked out of the room. Sasuke was standing at the door. Sasuke could senesce the anger radiate from his brother. He gasped and stepped back as Itachi left the room. "Brother?" Itachi ignored him as he stormed past him.

Nezzumi's funeral shortly followed. Everyone crowded around a small casket. Sakura face was red and puffy, she had cried the whole time. After the funeral was over everyone went home. Everyone except Sakura. It began to rain. Sakura sat in front of Nezzumi's grave. She began to shiver for the cold. She was soaking wet. Suddenly, she felt a warm pair of hands engulf her in a hug. She cried silently into his chest.

"You'll freeze to death out here, Sakura."

"Itachi," She swallowed hard, "I-I keep waiting for her to come back, but she's not coming." She paused, "She's not coming."

Itachi held her more tightly. His expression saddened. "Let's get you out of the rain." He picked the pink-haired girl up walked to her home.

"Itachi?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Hn?"

"T-There's been rumors…" She paused, "T-That you killed her…"

Itachi looked down at her with hurt. "Do you believe I did?"

"No."

He silently put her down in front of her house. She began to open the door but quickly turned back. "I know you didn't do it." With that she quickly entered the house.

The night after Nezzumi's funeral, Sasuke was running home. "Man, I'm so late." He ran down the street and stopped in front of a telephone pole. "What was that? I thought someone was there." He noticed all the lights were turned off. "It's too early for everyone to be in bed already." He turned onto another street and stopped. Signs were torn, blood was everywhere, and many bodies lay on the ground. What's going on? He turned onto another street, two bodies laid on the ground. "Uncle? Auntie?" They didn't respond. He gasped and ran past them. "Mom! Dad!" He ran to his house and inside. The house was empty and dark. He wandered through the house and stopped in the kitchen. Suddenly he heard two heavy objects drop. He ran down the hall to his parents room, but stopped at the door. He reached out to the handle but stopped. _Someone's in there_, he thought. _ Move_. He thought to himself but his feet didn't move, _Move, sasuke, move!_ He opened the doors and rushed inside. The room was dark except for the moonlight through the window. It shone directly on two lifeless bodies. Sasuke ran toward them, "Father! Mother!" Suddenly a man walked out of the shadows. Sasuke stepped back. When the light hit his face, Sasuke gasped. It was Itachi. "Brother, Father and Mother were…Why? Why? Who did this?" Suddenly a ninja-star was thrown past him. It ripped his shirt. Sasuke was frightened to death. He didn't move. "Brother, what are you doing?" He asked.

Itachi smirked, "Foolish brother," He said, closing his eyes. He slowly opened his eyes, "Mangekyou Sharingan!"

Sasuke was in a dream like state where he watched his brother kill many people. Then sadly, he watched his brother murder his parents. Sasuke finally snapped back to reality. He screamed. He looked up to his brother with cold eyes. "Why?" He whispered, "Why did you…"

"To see what I was capable of." He simply replied back.

"What you were capable of? That's it? You killed everyone for that reason?"

"It is unimportant." Itachi said.

Sasuke slowly got up, "What the hell…" He said as he bolted towards his brother, "Don't screw around!"

Itachi punched him in the stomach and fell unconscious.

Sakura began to run out of her house, she couldn't shake the feeling that Itachi was in trouble. She began to run down the path to his house. She stopped dead in her tracks. There were dead bodies everywhere. She began to run even faster and she turned onto a new street. She entered the house and called Itachi's name. There was no answer. She saw a puddle of red liquid seep through their parent's door. Her eyes followed the liquid to see Itachi standing over his parent's dead bodies and Sasuke's unconscious body.

She breathed heavily, "Itachi." He took a step toward her, and she took a step back. "Y-You're c-covered in blood." She paused for a moment, "A-are you hurt?"

Itachi didn't respond. She looked into his eyes. They were blood red, with what looked like, a pinwheel. Sakura began to shake from fear. The atmosphere seemed thick with tension. "Who did this?" She tried again.

After a few moments of an awkward silence, Itachi finally spoke. "Sakura," He paused, "I did it for a reason."

Sakura stepped back in disbelief. Tears filled her eyes and threatened to fall.

"My clan was planning an attack. This was the only way to stop them."

Sakura couldn't control her fear, tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't believe you!" She turned to run, but was grabbed from behind by Itachi. Sakura gasped, _He's to fast, _she thought.

His grip was tight around her forearms. "Sakura…" He began, "Please believe me." He said in a low desperate voice.

Sakura whined, "You're hurting me!" She struggled to be free from his grip.

Itachi lowered his head in shame and quickly loosened his grip. "Please forgive me." He whispered in her ear. Even lower he whispered, "Remember that I love you."

Sakura fell to the ground, "I love you." She managed to whisper before falling unconscious.

Sakura woke up the next day in the hospital. Her head throbbed. Some how she felt like a piece of her was missing. She didn't know why she was there.

She could hear the doctors talking to her parents in the hall. They whispered, "It seems her memory has been cleared."

"What does that mean?" She heard her mother ask. "Does she remember us?"

"It seems they only thing she forgot is her relationship with the Uchiha's."

_The Uchiha's? _She thought, _Who are they?_ She continued to listen.

Another voice come in tune, "What do you mean she forgot about us?"

"Sasuke? What are you doing out of your room? You should b-"

"Answer my question! She can't forget about me. There's no way she can forget what we saw. I'll have to live with it for the rest of my life!" He shouted. After that it was quiet.

Her mother walked in the room. "Hi, Mom." Sakura said brightly.

Her mother faked a smile, "Hey sweetie, how do you feel?"

"Fine, except my head hurts really bad. Why am I here?"

"Oh, um, we'll talk about that later."

With that they went home.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

_**An Old Friend**_

Nezzumi bolted upright in her bed. She was panting hard. Tiny beads of sweat fell down her forehead. "Sasuke…Sakura…Itachi…" Her voice was monotone. It had no emotion.

She quickly threw on a short, black kimono. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her Sharingan eyes stared back at her. Her long black hair flowed behind her. She looked a lot like her older brothers. She tied her Konoha bandana around her forehead. Next she grabbed her blue, diamond-shaped locket. She opened it and at the pictures inside. There was no expression on her face. She sighed and tied it around her neck.

She looked at the walls of her small shack. They were covered in newspapers. Most of them said: _**Uchiha Clan Whipped Out!**_ Or _**Uchiha Clan No More!**_ On another wall there were articles of her supposed death. She sighed. _Seventeen years old and all alone, _She thought to herself, _You'd think I'd be used to it by now. _She sighed and walked out of the small shack. It was raining hard. As soon as Nezzumi stepped outside she became soaked. _Great, _She thought sarcastically.

She wandered through the forest. She heard her stomach growl. She looked at it confused. _I am a little hungry…_It growled even louder _…or maybe really hungry. _She closed her eyes and concentrated. Suddenly she opened them again and began to run fast. She slowed her pace down at a waterfall. She recognized this area. She heard a noise in the distance and crouched behind a bush. A boy with blonde hair held, what looked like, a typhoon in the palm of his left hand. He stuck a tree. The tree had been demolished. She smirked. _Interesting… _She thought. She spotted a green backpack on the ground just a few feet ahead of her. Next to the back pack sat an ANBU mask. She reached for the bag when suddenly the boy appeared in front of her. He crouched down, so their eyes were level with one another. She gasped.

"You know," The boy began, "Stealing is not a good thing to do."

Nezzumi quickly pulled out a kunai, got to her feet and took a stance, ready to fight. "I wasn't going to steal anything." She stated clearly.

"Oh, then what were you do-" He stopped suddenly. He had just noticed her eyes. Her Sharingan.

Nezzumi became uncomfortable. "What? What is it?"

The boy stepped up to Nezzumi. Their eyes were locked. Nezzumi blinked as he stepped close to her. They were less then an inch away. "You…you look just like…"

"Oi! Naruto!" Naruto looked out to see an ANBU running towards him. The masked figure stopped at Naruto. "Naruto, what are you doing?"

Naruto looked back to Nezzumi, but found nothing. She was gone, nowhere to be seen. _Wow, she's fast. _Naruto stared at the ground. His thoughts were interrupted by the ANBU.

"Naruto!" The ANBU then removed the mask. It was Sakura.

He snapped back to reality. "Sakura. What is it?"

"Tsunade-sama wants us. C'mon. We need to leave now." She replaced her mask and turned and left.

Naruto bent down to pick up his backpack, but that was also gone. He inwardly cursed to himself as he put on his ANBU mask.

Nezzumi watched them leave from behind a tree. "Sakura…" She smiled slightly.

Sakura and Naruto ran quickly to the fifths office. They knocked on the door.

"Come in." Tsunade calmly said.

Sakura opened the door and walked inside with Naruto. Sakura and Naruto took off their masks. They walked over to Tsunade's desk.

"Naruto, Sakura. I have a mission for the two of you." She paused, "And Kakashi…That is when he gets here."

As if on cue Kakashi appeared out of nowhere, holding Nezzumi. She was unconscious. "Sorry I'm late. I ran into some trouble." He laid her body gently on the ground and tossed Naruto his green backpack. "I believe that's yours."

Naruto caught the bag but couldn't stop staring at Nezzumi. _Who the heck is that girl? _He thought to himself.

Sakura looked at the girl wide-eyed. Some how she felt she knew her. Her eyes spotted the blue diamond shaped locket around her neck.

Her thoughts were broken as Nezzumi sat up. Their eyes met. Sakura suddenly felt like she wanted to cry. Sakura suddenly appeared behind Nezzumi. She held a kunai to her throat. "Where did you get this?" She asked pressing the kunai deeper in her throat she continued, "I thought I lost it a couple years ago."

Nezzumi looked hurt, "What's wrong Sakura? Don't you remember who I am?" She asked in her monotone voice.

"No, I don't." Sakura cut the locket free from Nezzumi's neck.

Nezzumi gasped, "That's mine! You gave it to me. Don't you remember?"

Sakura didn't care what Nezzumi had to say until she opened the locket. Inside were two pictures. On the left was a picture of Sasuke, Sakura and Itachi. On the right was a picture of the four of them. Itachi and Sasuke stood back-to-back. Itachi was holding Sakura up on his shoulders, and Nezzumi stood in between her brothers. Itachi was ruffling Nezzumi's hair and Sasuke made the peace sign with his fingers. Sakura was holding tightly onto Itachi and smooshed her face against Itachi's. She wore a big smile.

Suddenly a memory flashed through her mind:

_Nezzumi nodded, "I know." She smiled, "You're my best friend Sakura! I know we'll be friends forever."_

_Sakura smiled, "We will. No matter what. We'll grow up together and we'll share everything."_

"_I know Itachi feels the same way too. And Sasuke, even though he doesn't show it."_

Sakura began to breathe heavily, "Who are you? What relation do you have to Sasuke?"

Nezzumi stepped forward, "You know the whereabouts of my brother? Where is he?" She demanded.

"Brother?" She heard Tsunade and Kakashi gasp; after all she was supposed to be dead.

Naruto leaned forward suspiciously, "Sasuke is your brother? Is that why you look like him?"

Tsunade stood, "That is enough." She looked at Nezzumi, "There is no possible way you could be Sasuke's sister. She died ten years ago."

"That'd be true," Nezzumi began, "If I had died. I'm seventeen. My name is Uchiha Nezzumi."

"That's impossible!" Tsunade yelled.

"Why doesn't Sakura remember me? My family?" She paused, "What did you do to Sakura?"

Tsunade looked at Sakura, who stared back at her. She looked back at Nezzumi, "Uchiha Nezzumi is dead." She stated coolly.

"I'm not dead." Nezzumi said, challenging the great Tsunade.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Nezzumi, "You're also not Nezzumi Uchiha."

"Sakura tell her. Tell her who I am!" She paused, "C'mon, you've got to remember. Why don't you remember?"

"Follow me." Tsunade suddenly said. They all fallowed her. They made their way to a cemetery. Tsunade stopped in front of a grave that read: _Here lies Uchiha Nezzumi._

Nezzumi gasped. Sakura fell to her knees, she began to have another vision:

_She was soaking wet. Suddenly, she felt a warm pair of hands engulf her in a hug. She cried silently into his chest._

"_You'll freeze to death out here, Sakura."_

"_Itachi," She swallowed hard, "I-I keep waiting for her to come back, but she's not coming." She paused, "She's not coming."_

"Sakura. Sakura-chan!" Naruto began to shake her.

Sakura snapped back to reality. She was shaking slightly. _Why does this keep happening to me? What the hells going on? _She asked herself.

"She came back…" She whispered under her breath. She looked at Nezzumi and the back to the locket. "Tsunade-sama…" She paused, "This is Uchiha Nezzumi."

Nezzumi smiled. "Sakura! You remember?"

"No." She replied. Everyone stared blankly at her. Then she continued, "I keep having these visions. Of my childhood…" She paused, "I could never remember my childhood until now." She turned to Tsunade, "Tsunade-sama, please believe me when I say this is Nezzumi."

Tsunade blankly took that into consideration, "Alright, Sakura, if you feel so strongly about this then I will allow Nezzumi to stay in my village, but she is to stay with you and you are to keep an eye on her at all times." She said.

"I understand." Sakura replied.

"Now, for that mission. I want you four to capture the S-Rank criminal," She looked at Nezzumi, "Uchiha Itachi."

Nezzumi's eye's widened but she understood. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **A special thanks to Mitsuki Sakura Uchiha, Midori Blossom, uchiha miyo, and ozeki for reviewing. Also, thanks to all who added this story, or me as an author, to their favorites.

_**Chapter Two**_

_**A Past Memory**_

The next morning the four of them met at the front gate. Sakura let Nezzumi barrow an ANBU suit so their features were all well hidden.

Sakura stood proudly in her ANBU suit. Of course she had something to be proud of, she was the ANBU captain. "Okay," Sakura began, "Naruto you take the lead, Kakashi-sensei, Nezzumi, and I'll take the rear."

They all nodded, and in order took off. They ran through the trees at an even pace. It was quiet for a while until Sakura began to run faster to catch up to Nezzumi. She leaned in close, "Are you alright?" She asked, "I mean with capturing your brother?"

Nezzumi nodded and smiled. "It's you that I'm worried about." She said honestly.

Sakura arched an eyebrow, questioning her. She laughed at Nezzumi's ridiculous comment. "What do you mean?"

"When we were kids, you were very fond of my brother." She paused. "Our parents swore that one day you two would end up married, even." She laughed.

Sakura cringed at the thought. _Impossible. _She thought. She adjusted her mask slightly. She began to increase her speed and caught up to Kakashi. "We should take a break. Let's rest here."

Kakashi nodded and he slowed his speed until he found a clearing they could rest at. They all stopped in a clearing near a river. "Five minutes. Then we'll continue." She walked alone to a tree and rested against it. She closed her eyes to rest, but kept her guard up. She could feel someone approach her.

"Sakura?" Nezzumi asked slowly, as she approached her cautiously.

Sakura opened her eyes and looked up to Nezzumi, "Yes?"

"I think I know why you don't remember anything."

Sakura sat up, "Why is that?" She was eager to hear what Nezzumi had to say.

"It's because--"

"Sakura." Kakashi interrupted, "I sense two powerful chakera signatures making their way in our direction. They must be Akatsuki."

Sakura waited a moment, "Yes, I sense them too. They're approaching us fast."

Just then a hawk flew from the sky and handed Sakura a scroll. She quickly scanned it. "It's the Hokage-sama." She read a little further, "She wants us to come back immediately."

"What's the emergency?" Naruto asked.

"Sasuke's been spotted near our village." She said quietly.

"What do you want us to do?" Kakashi asked Sakura.

Sakura stood there for a moment, "I want you three to go after Sasuke. I'll get Itachi."

"By yourself? But Sa-" Naruto began, but was interrupted by Sakura.

"It's an order." She said sternly. She then smiled. "I'll catch up with you in no time. Now, move out!"

The three ninja's left on cue. Sakura quickly stealthed between the trees. She had a shadow clone wait in the clearing. She watched as two Akatsuki members approached her clone. One of them began to approach her clone further, but the other stopped him.

"Kisame, are you that naïve? That's a shadow clone."

Poof. Her clone disappeared. Sakura slowly began to approach them, from behind. "Very good, Itachi-san. I haven't been giving you enough credit."

Suddenly, Itachi was behind her. He had a kunai to her neck. "You didn't think I would fall for that trick, did you?" He asked in a deadly voice.

Then suddenly, Poof! Itachi and Kisame stood in the clearing alone.

"Apparently you would, Itachi-San." She smirked under her ANBU mask. She shifted in her hiding spot. "From the looks of it, your eyes are giving in. Too bad you use that Sharingan constantly."

Suddenly he disappeared. "Shit." She cursed. She was about to relocate but was roughly thrown from the trees and onto the ground. Itachi smirked at her, "Too bad you talk too much."

Sakura quickly stood. He was suddenly behind her again. He tightly grabbed her forearms. When they made contact they both suddenly became immobilized.

_Sakura couldn't control her fear, tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't believe you!" She turned to run, but was grabbed from behind by Itachi. Sakura gasped, _He's to fast_, she thought. _

_His grip was tight around her forearms. "Sakura…" He began, "Please believe me." He said in a low desperate voice. _

_Sakura whined, "You're hurting me!" She struggled to be free from his grip._

_Itachi lowered his head in shame and quickly loosened his grip. "Please forgive me." He whispered in her ear._

They both broke apart. Sakura's eyes widened, she was in a state of shock. Itachi just let go of her, but didn't show his surprise. Sakura stumbled back a few feet were she found Kisame's sword plunged into her side. She could feel her chakera being drained instantly. Kisame pulled the sword out from Sakura's side. Sakura groaned and fell to the ground. Darkness began to engulf her vision.

Itachi hovered over Sakura and pulled off her ANBU mask. Sakura shifted when the light hit her face. Itachi's eyes narrowed, as Sakura's face and pink hair were reviled.

Sakura could hear Kisame ask Itachi, "What should we do with her?" She felt Kisame's sword hover over her body. "Could I kill her?" He lowed his sword, so the razors were touching Sakura's skin. Kisame laughed when Sakura tensed.

Sakura felt Itachi's cold stare, "We could have use for her. By her observations of my eyes, I'm assuming she's a medic." He paused for a moment, "Bring her back to the base."

Sakura felt herself being picked up and thrown over a shoulder. She finally was fully engulfed in darkness and slipped unconscious.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

_**The Proposal**_

Sakura awoke in a cold dark room. She laid in a cold substance, which she assumed to be her blood. _Shit, _She thought to herself, _If I loose anymore blood, I'll die. _She slowly opened her eyes. She brought her hand to her wound and began to heal it. A light blue aura surrounded her hand as she healed. Her chakera lit up the room. The room was big, and empty. The walls were stone and the door appeared to be pure steel. Suddenly the steel door opened, and she stopped healing herself.

All Sakura could see were crimson eyes piercing through the pitch-black darkness of the room. "That's foolish of you..."

She knew he was talking about her using her chakra. Sakura's glare started to pull toward Itachi's eyes, but Sakura quickly looked away, knowing what the consequences would be. She wondered why she longed for her to look into his eyes, or why she wanted him to comfort her, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away. She looked to his smirking lips, and became enraged. "What do you want with me?" She asked not showing any fear. Itachi said nothing. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?" She yelled.

Suddenly a new voice appeared, "We don't have to answer to you." The blue man smirked, "Plus it looks as if you like to play with my sword." Kisame held up his sword, revealing Sakura's blood on it. "How about another play date?" Kisame smirked as he walked toward Sakura with his sword drawn, but Itachi held his arm out, stopping him.

"That's not necessary." Itachi explained, "She used her chakra healing herself."

"That's too unfortunate." Kisame looked disappointed. "Kunoichi, we have a proposition for you." He paused, as he walked toward Sakura, and kneeled before her. "We have some use for you. You see we're in need of a…"

Before he could say it, Sakura had insisted on spitting in his face. Kisame growled at her, as he whipped the spit off his face. He quickly raised his hand and slapped her. Sakura was slapped so hard she fell against the ground, and she began to bleed form her mouth. She strongly sat back up, leaning against the wall for support. She knew she was in a weak state, but she wouldn't show it, even if it was obvious. "Now, that I have your attention, I was saying that we could use a good medic around here. We'll give you a couple days to think about it. If you give us an answer we like, maybe we'll let you live." With that, the two Akatsuki members left.

For the next two days Kisame would come in and drain Sakura's chakra. It was unpleasant to say the least. Afterwards, Sakura would always pass out and wake up in the same dark, cold room. On the third day, Itachi and Kisame came back in her room, just as they said. Itachi was the first to speak, "We're here for your answer." He simply said.

_What should I do? No, No! Why am I even asking that question? My answer is no! _, She quickly thought to herself, _I could take advantage of this. I could be on the inside and later tell Tsunade-sama everything I know. _She thought suddenly. _This could be my last chance to take down the Akatsuki. _"My answer is yes." Her raspy voice managed to whisper. _What am I getting myself in to?_

"Good," Kisame snarled, "Get up, and follow us." He walked out of the room, and was soon followed by Itachi.

Sakura used all the strength she had to get up and follow the two Akatsuki members. The stonewall shortly ended when they walked up some stairs and into, what looked like, a normal house. They stood in a kitchen, which they passed, and entered a long hallway. The light made Sakura squint, it was too harsh on her eyes, and she was having a hard time adjusting. They stopped at two rooms parallel to each other.

"Why are we stopping here?" Itachi asked Kisame.

"Because," Kisame began, "She's your responsibility now."

Itachi looked almost amused. "This is news to me."

Kisame shrugged. "Bosses orders. We're to keep a close eye on her, and since this is the only empty room in the house, you get to baby sit." Kisame laughed. Itachi looked displeased, but said nothing. Kisame pointed to the room on the left, "Kunoichi, this is your room from now on. I would take a shower if I were you, you smell."

Sakura glared at him, and began to say something but was cut off by Itachi. "Your Akatsuki robes are on the bed, you'll be expected to wear them." With that Itachi entered the room on the right, parallel to Sakura's. Kisame looked at the Sakura, "We'll have dinner in an hour, Kunoichi."

"I have a name, sharkface. My name is Sakura!" She bursted aloud.

Kisame and Sakura glared at each other. "I will call you what I wish, _Kunoichi_." With that he left.

Instead of taking a shower, Sakura went to lay down on the plain bed in her new room. She felt so weak, she couldn't think of a time she has ever felt weaker. She closed her eyes and began to drift away…

_She saw a puddle of red liquid seep through their parents door._ _Her eyes followed the liquid to see Itachi standing over his parents dead bodies and Sasuke's unconscious body. _

_She breathed heavily, "Itachi." He took a step toward her, and she took a step back. "Y-You're covered in blood." She paused for a moment, "Are you hurt?"_

_Itachi didn't respond. She looked into his eyes. They were blood red, with, what looked like, a pinwheel._

Sakura woke up panting hard. Itachi was standing in the doorway. She looked at him, and quickly looked away. "It's time to eat." Itachi stated, and left.

She slowly put on her akatsuki robe, walked after him, and followed him into the kitchen. Kisame, a blonde haired boy, and a red haired boy were already sitting and eating. When she entered, they all stopped to stare. The blonde haired boy asked curiously, "Who's the Kunoichi?"

"She's apart of the Akatsuki now." Itachi said.

The blonde haired boy smiled. "My name's Deidara. That's Sasori." He pointed to the red head. Deidara continued, "Us four, er five now, are stationed here. The others are elsewhere."

"Where exactly are we?" Sakura asked slyly, trying to get as much information as possible.

Deidara began to speak but was interrupted by Itachi. "You don't need to worry about such things Sakura-san." Itachi insisted. He sat with the other, took the, already placed, bowl and began to fill it with rice, fried vegetables, and dumplings. Sakura slowly took the empty seat across from Itachi. She began to fill her bowl with rice, and cautiously began to eat. Shortly, everyone left except for Sakura and Itachi. It had been quiet the entire time until finally Itachi spoke. "The boss wants to meet you, he'll be here early tomorrow." Sakura looked into Itachi's eyes, and quickly looked away. She said nothing, but nodded in acknowledgment. They both picked up the soy sauce at the same time, and their hands touched.

_The kid instantly dropped the rock. "S-sasuke! This is your sister? We didn't know…"_

_An older boy suddenly appeared and instantly became angry as he saw the two small girls covered in cuts. "What's going on here?"_

"_Older brother," Sasuke began, "These jerks are messing with Nezzumi and Sakura."_

_Sakura quickly ran behind Itachi, and hugged him tightly. He was like an older brother to her. He always watched out for her._

Sakura and Itachi snapped back to reality. They both let go of the glass of soy sauce at the same time. The glass dropped and shattered. "Excuse me." Sakura quickly and abruptly, apologized and rushed off to her room.

The next morning, Sakura was summoned by the boss. She walked into a dark room, much like the one she was first held in, and saw a dark figure sitting in a high chair in the distance. "Sakura-san," The boss said, "I am glad you decided to accept my proposal, but I'm sure you would've known what would've happen if you didn't accept it."

"I'm no coward." Sakura said boldly. The boss's eyes narrowed. Sakura continued, "I didn't except it because I was scared, I accepted it for my own personal gain."

"And what would that be for?" The boss asked in a deadly voice.

Sakura slowed her breathing. "To get stronger, and to not have any limits or restrictions." She lied.

The boss waited a moment before speaking. "I see. Well, as you know, you will be the akatsuki medic. You will heal our members, and remember, we'll be watching you very closely. Don't mess this up, or you will end up dead. Congratulations on becoming an akatsuki member, here is your ring." He tossed her a ring with the kanji 'sky' written on it. "That ring will connect you to all members, and is essential for all meetings. I'm sure that you're already aware that Kisame, and Itachi are your partners, and you three will go on frequent missions?" He said more as a statement, then a question. Sakura nodded. "You are dismissed."


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

_**A Month Later**_

It has been a month since Sakura had joined the akatsuki. Besides, all the missions, Sakura and Itachi have been avoiding each other. Sakura was lying on her bed when suddenly a knock came at her door. "Come in."

Itachi entered, Sakura tensed as she sat up. "We have another mission." He stated. He then realized Sakura wasn't wearing her robe. He noticed her slender, curves on her body. He looked her up and down, then quickly looked away. Clearing his head of such inappropriate thoughts. "We have to leave now." He said breaking the silence, "Put your robe on and lets go."

"I don't have time to pack?" She asked, as she slipped on her robe.

"No. It won't be long, anyway." He said in a monotone voice. Once Sakura got her robe on, they left. "Sharkface isn't coming?" Sakura asked curiously. Itachi just shook his head.

They ran silently for hours until they came to Wind County. A windstorm forced the two to take shelter. They stopped at a near by inn. The innkeeper looked up when they walked into the inn. Itachi walked up to him, "One room." He said.

"What?" Sakura yelled. She slammed her fist on the counter and leaned over it. "He means two rooms." She said forcefully.

Itachi just shrugged. The innkeeper looked confused. "I'm sorry, there's only one room left."

Sakura sighed. Itachi took the key and paid. They walked up to there room. In unison they both took off their robes. Sakura leaned against the wall. Itachi couldn't help but stare. He could tell he was making Sakura nervous. He had a smirk on his face, as he couldn't help but walk over to her. "Itachi, what are you…" She stopped speaking when he stepped close to her body, nearly touching it with his. He was careful not to touch her, but put his hands against the wall so she was trapped.

Sakura was blushing madly, and could barley speak. "I-Itachi…"

Itachi looked into her eyes, but she averted his. "Look into my eyes." He said softly, "Like you used to."

"I-I don't know w-what you're t-talking about." She stuttered.

"I won't hurt you. Look into my eyes, Sakura."

Sakura hesitantly did as she was told. Quickly Itachi walked away, leaving Sakura confused. Itatchi's voice went from being soft to his normal monotone. "Good," Itachi said, braking Sakura's thought, "I can trust you." Itachi walked over to the one seated couch, sat down and closed his eyes.

Sakura observed the room. There wasn't much to look at. The walls were plain, there was one window, one dresser, one one-seated couch, and there was only one bed. _One bed?!_ "Itachi-san?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Hn?" Itachi replayed keeping his eyes closed.

"There's only one bed."

Itachi opened his eyes and looked at the bed, "So there is." He observed. His reply was followed by a long silence, until he broke it suddenly, "Weren't you taught to share, Sakura-san?" Itachi asked in an amusing voice, as he slowly closed his eyes again.

Sakura turned away from Itachi as her face heated up. She walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down. "Just stay on your side of the bed." She said as she let out a sigh. She laid down on one side of the bed.

"You should know, Sakura-san, I have no interest in you." Itachi said with no emotion.

With that Sakura fell asleep.

_After the funeral was over everyone went home. Everyone except Sakura. It began to rain. Sakura sat in front of Nezzumi's grave. She began to shiver for the cold. She was soaking wet. Suddenly, she felt a warm pair of hands engulf her in a hug. She cried silently into his chest._

"_You'll freeze to death out here, Sakura."_

"_Itachi," She swallowed hard, "I-I keep waiting for her to come back, but she's not coming." She paused, "She's not coming."_

_Itachi held her more tightly. His expression saddened. "Let's get you out of the rain." He picked the pink-haired girl up walked to her home._

Sakura awoke in the middle of the night, beads of sweat rolling down her pale face. She was breathing hard. She looked around the room and focused on Itachi. He was still sitting on the couch, resting. She was sure he was awake still, but his eyes were closed. Sakura began to cry lightly.

"Who are you?" She asked aloud. She didn't get an answer. _Why do I keep having these dreams? _She asked herself. "Itachi-san, I know you're awake. Answer my question." She commanded.

"I am Uchiha Itachi." He said stubbornly, without opening his eyes. Itachi didn't show it, but he knew what she really meant. It almost pained him to see her like that, but he was the great Uchiha Itachi, he felt nothing.

Sakura knew she wouldn't get any other answer, and laid back down.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

"Tsunade-baachan!" A certain blonde haired boy whined, while bursting into Tsunade's office. Nezzumi followed right behind him.

Tsunade glared at Naruto. "What is it Naruto? Nezzumi." She acknowledged.

"Why cant we go find Sakura-chan?!" He whined, "It's been a month, and the ANBU hasn't found her yet!"

"I agree with Naruto." Nezzumi said bluntly, "We need to find her. We want to go look for her. We feel useless."

Tsunade poured some sake into a cup. "I've explained to you both, why you two can't go after her." She paused, "Naruto, you know that the akatsuki is looking for you, and Nezzumi, we can't afford to let you out of our sight just yet, surly you understand." She drank the sake.

Nezzumi hesitantly nodded, and looked down. Naruto observed Nezzumi and became furious, "Tsunade-sama, hasn't Nezzumi proved that she means no harm? She's on our side!" He screamed.

"We thought that about Sasuke too!" Tsunade screamed back, "And look where that got us. The remaining Uchiha's are criminals, we can't afford to judge too quickly, Naruto." The room fell silent. Suddenly Naruto furiously left, with Nezzumi quickly following behind.

"Naruto!" Nezzumi yelled after him.

He stopped. "She can't treat you like that." He said with his fists clenched.

Nezzumi looked down. "I understand why she does. I really do. Naruto, it's okay. It'll pass one day."

Naruto held up her chin. His blue eyes looked into her crimson ones. He sighed, "One day soon, I know they'll see." He brought his lips to hers and kissed her. For a while they sat on the rooftops looking at the stars silently. Nezzumi sighed, "Naruto?" She grabbed his attention.

"Hmm?" He looked to her.

"I keep having these weird dreams…about Sakura." She said silently. When Naruto said nothing she continued, "I don't really know what it means, but I keep seeing Sakura, and my brother."

"Sasuke?" Naruto said excitedly.

Nezzumi shook her head, "Itachi." Naruto turned pale. Nezzumi continued, "They always do different things in my dream, but I never remember what. The only thing that stays the same is the robes they wear. It's black with red clouds." Naruto stayed silent. "I mean I know they used to be very fond of each other when they were young, but I don't know what it means. What does it mean Naruto?"

"Was she okay? Was she taken hostage?" Naruto asked.

Nezzumi shook her head, with tears in her eyes, "I don't know, Naruto. I don't know." She paused a moment before continuing, "I don't remember anything, just those cloaks."

Naruto looked as if he was going to pass out. "Nezzumi, we have to keep this just to us for now. If we tell someone they'll assume the worst, and declare Sakura a missing nin." Nezzumi gasped and buried her chest into Naruto's. Naruto held her tightly.

The next morning Nezzumi and Naruto were summoned to Tsunades office. Kakashi was already waiting in there with Tsunade. "Naruto, Nezzumi." She acknowledged them. "I have considered what you said last night, and you two will go with Kakashi and bring Sakura back." Naruto and Nezzumi smiled at one another. "You leave now. Hurry back."

Naruto, Nezzumi, and Kakashi left quickly. They ran out the Konoha gates, and each of them was determined to bring Sakura back.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Reunited**_

Kakashi, Nezzumi, and Naruto have been running nonstop, since they left four days ago. Their ANBU suits hugged their bodies, which made them run faster. It was obvious Kakashi and Nezzumi were fatigued, but Naruto was too determined and wouldn't stop.

"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled, "We need a break."

"We're close!" He yelled back, "I can feel it."

"Please Naruto, "Nezzumi said, "Lets stop for a moment."

Naruto stopped unwillingly. He frowned. Kakashi and Nezzumi caught up and stopped as well.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Sakura and Itachi had completed their mission and been running back to the akatsuki hideout since. Suddenly they both slowed down, and masked their chakra. Itachi looked to Sakura, and Sakura nodded showing that she sensed people too.

"There are three of them." Sakura whispered. They calmly walked into the clearing to find no one there.

"We know you're here. You might as well come out." Itachi said.

Suddenly two ANBU appeared before them. Sakura and Itachi had their straw hats covering their faces, and Sakura gasped when she saw that they were Konoha ANBU. _Oh God, not Konoha. _She realized then, she would have to fight them. The third ANBU tried attacking Sakura from behind, and that's when the fight begun. Poof. It was just a shadow clone. She appeared on the other side of Itachi, as the third ANBU regrouped with the other two. Itachi then took off his straw hat, and revealed his face.

"Uchiha Itachi." One of the ANBU growled.

Sakura recognized that voice. It was Naruto. You could also here the second ANBU gasp from underneath her mask. Which she guessed was Nezzumi.

Sakura then looked up and revealed her face as well. She took her hat off fully, and tried to look as unemotional as possible. She needed to play this right.

"Sakura." The third ANBU finally spoke.

_Oh God, Kakashi-sensei, _She thought. "Kakashi-sensei," She said out loud, "How nice of you to stop by." She said emotionless.

The three of them looked so confused. It stayed awkwardly silent for a moment. Finally Naruto broke the silence. "S-Sakura-chan…?" Naruto asked confused. "W-What is this? What are you doing dressed as an Akatsuki?"

Sakura tried hard to stay emotional. "This is where I belong now Naruto. I'm apart of the Akatsuki, and this is where my loyalties lay now."

The three of them gasped. Naruto clenched his fists tightly, and yelled, "Sakura-chan, I'm going to bring you back, even if I have to break every bone in your body!" With that Naruto went to attack Sakura, but Itachi intervened, and they began to fight. Nezzumi and Kakashi went after Sakura.

Nezzumi came forward with many attacks, but Sakura was too fast. Sakura really felt the training she's been doing with the akatsuki really worked. Suddenly Sakura did a medical jutsu and hit Nezzumi right above the heart. Nezzumi fell unconscious. Sakura finally unsheathed her katana. _One down, one to go, _She thought as Kakashi came out of nowhere and parried her katana with a kunai. Once she was far enough away from where Itachi and Naruto were battling she held tight to her katana, as she managed to knock Kakashi's kunai out of his hand. She pointed the blade against his throat, and got in real close to him. "Listen to me real close Kakashi-sensei," she began, "I was captured by the akatsuki, and I was forced to join. I joined so I could leak information to you guys. Let Tsunade-sama know I'm okay." With that she sliced his throat, but instead of blood she got smoke.

Kakashi watched from afar as Sakura ran off. _She could tell it was a shadow clone_, he impressively thought to himself. _This news must be given to Tsunade-sama immediately!_ He thought, _but, how on earth will I get Naruto to stop fighting? _He sighed, as he ran after Sakura, toward Itachi and Naruto.

Sakura arrived to find an unconscious Naruto and Itachi standing over him. Sakura gasped inwardly, and became scared for her friend. She wondered if her feelings showed, because suddenly, Itachi walked away from Naruto's body. Sakura walked closely behind him. "We're not taking him back?" She asked puzzled.

"No." Itachi said, "That wasn't our mission."

_Thank God, _She thought to herself. She forced herself not to look back, at the scene where she had left her friends, and kept walking silently behind Itachi. The rest of the way back to the hideout was quiet.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Kakashi ran through the gates of Konoha with Nezzumi and Naruto on his shoulder, one on each. He was greeted with other ANBU, just as he was about to pass out. He knew though, that wasn't an option no matter how fatigued he was. He had to see Lady Tsunade. "Take these two to the hospital," He instructed the other ANBU, "I need to see Tsunade-sama." With that he ran toward Tsunade-sama's office, and climbed through the window.

"Kakashi, you bring good news I hope. Is Sakura with you?" Tsunade-sama asked, then observed the situation more closely, "Where is Naruto and Nezzumi?"

"Naruto and Nezzumi are in the hospital." He said, "As for Sakura, she's with the akatsuki."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Explain."

"She has joined the akatsuki, but to be a spy for us. She explained it to me as we were fighting, then she destroyed my shadow clone. She knew it was a shadow clone." He said bluntly.

Tsunade was quiet for a moment, "Does anyone else know?"

Kakashi shook his head, "Just us."

"Very well, then. We need to keep it that way. I need to declare that she is officially a missing nin, for her safety. I just hope she knows what she's doing." Tsunade looked displeased, and lowered her head. She began to rub her temples roughly.

"There's just one more thing." Kakashi said.

Lady Tsunade's eyebrow rose, as she looked up to him. "What is it?"

"Itachi was with her. When Naruto went to attack Sakura, Itachi jumped in front of her, as if to protect her. It could be just coincidence, but that's something that he would've done for her all those years ago. Do you think he still feels something for her? She could be his weakness."

"Its possible." Tsunade said, "but it's too hard to believe. For now, lets assume it was coincidence."

Kakashi nodded slowly and left Tsunade alone in her office. Tsunade poured some sake into her cup and quickly drank it down. _Oh Sakura…_


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: This is the last big time skip. Enjoy! :p**

_**Chapter Six**_

_**A Year Later**_

It has been a year since Sakura was taken by the akatsuki. She had gotten used to everything, as crazy as it was. She actually enjoyed the company of all the akatsuki, even Itachi. She grew close to them, even considered them her friends, as foolish as she knew that was. Deidara and Kisame were like her best friends and she liked talking to Sasori, that is before he was stationed elsewhere. Itachi and Sakura seemed to tolerate one another, since Sakura hasn't had any bad dreams or weird daydreams in awhile. Every once in a while, when she would engage in battle with Kakashi she would give him a note, enclosed with information for Tsunade. Make no mistake, she didn't forget about her main mission.

Sakura walked into the kitchen, where the rest of the akatsuki was. Sweat dripped all over her body, she had just finished training with Deidara. Plus, it had been raining outside. The scene she walked into was an amusing one. It was obvious that Kisame had been drinking, and Deidara had some how managed to join Kisame and already look tipsy.

"Oi, Sakura-chan, look what Kisame brought us, yeah!" He said while drinking some sake.

Sakura smiled, "I can already tell this'll be an interesting night." She giggled.

"I like it when you laugh, Sakura-chan." Deidara said in a cool voice.

Sakura smiled politely, _Great, _she thought, _He hits on me enough when he's sober. He's ten times worse drunk! _With that thought she skidded off to her room. Once inside she began to undress and went to take a shower. When she was finished, she wrapped a towel around her body. Suddenly there was a knock at her door. _Eh! _She thought, as she cracked the door slightly too see who it was. In the door way stood Itachi. "Itachi-san, what is it?"

Itachi stared for a moment. He noticed her wet hair, and the droplets of water on her showing skin. "May I come in?" He asked casually.

"What? No!" Sakura replied, but was suddenly pushed out of the way. Leaving the door wide open, Itachi made his way into her room and sat on the bed. He noticed her clench the towel closer to her naked body.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked furiously.

"I need you to heal my eyes." He said bluntly.

Sakura was taken aback, and gasped inwardly. "Itachi-san, couldn't this ridiculous thought have waited until after I was done getting dressed?"

"Hn." Itachi said without moving.

Frustrated Sakura stormed into the bathroom. A minute later she came back out fully clothed. She folded her arms across her chest. "Now what is the matter?" she asked.

Itachi was about to say something, when Deidara stumbled into Sakura's room. "Sakura-chan, I was just looking for you." He paused, and looked from Sakura to Itachi. "What's going on, yeah?" He asked drunkenly.

"Nothing that concerns you." Itachi said before leaning in real close to Sakura, "We'll finish this later." He said before he walked out. Sakura got chills as she felt Itachi's warm breath against her neck.

"What happened, Sakura-chan?" He asked an upset looking Kunoichi.

Suddenly she smiled, "Nothing, Deidara. Let's go join Sharkface." They left her room and walked into the kitchen.

"Oi, pinky," Kisame's new favorite name for Sakura, "Come drink with us?"

After what just happened Sakura just couldn't refuse. Suddenly her akatsuki ring stared to glow. Kisame and Deidara looked disappointed. Sakura sighed, "If you guys are still drunk when I get back, count me in." She said with a smile.

She walked away and went to her room. Itachi was sitting on a chair, his ring glowing too. "I love how you ask permission before going into _my _room, Itachi-san." She said. "What's our mission?"

Itachi was staring at her. This made her a little uncomfortable. "We need to leave, now." He said, suddenly standing up.

Sakura quickly went to grab her cloak and put it on.

"That won't be necessary." Itachi said.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Why not?" She asked in a deadly tone.

"Our mission is to kill a wealthy man who seems to have a fancy for women. His name is Kentaro." (A/N: according to a website I went to, the name meaning of Kentaro is big boy.)

"What?!" Sakura screamed. "So, let me get this right, you want me to flirt with some gross, overweight, old guy, just so he can touch me up and then kill him?"

"You can take it as far as you wish, Sakura-san." He said truthfully, "You're merely distracting him. He owns the place we're going to, and only _certain_ people, to his liking, can get in."

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "There's no way I'm doing this!" She protested.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Sakura said as she waited in line to go into the front door. _You go through the front, he says, I'll be on the roof, waiting for you to finish. _She thought to herself.

Suddenly a large man walked in front of her. "Who are you?" The man asked, as he checked her out. "You new here?"

Sakura nodded. "My name is…" _God, why? This is so wrong. _"…Paradise, but you can call me whatever you want." She said in a seductive voice.

He smirked at her, "Go ahead and go in. Okay, that's enough for tonight." He said as he shooed off the other girls.

Sakura quickly ran in. The place was full of girls, only girls. Sakura couldn't believe it. She tapped on another girls shoulder. "Could you tell me where I can find Kentaro?" The girld just scoffed and walked off. Another girl walked up to her.

"You're looking for Kentaro-san?" The girl asked, Sakura nodded. The girl laughed. "You must be new here, no one ever see's Kentaro-san before there first _year _here. Not unless he hand picks you outta the crowd, whitch you can tell is not easy." She said, indicating at the massive crowd of girls around them. "It's said he resides in that room." She pointed at a skybox, above everyone.

"Thanks." Sakura said before walking toward the bar. She got some sake then drank it, then orderd another drink in a long glass. She began walking in the direction she thought she might get into the skybox. She entered a long stone hallway, no one was there. She walked all the way down the hallway before running into stairs. She began to explore further, before she went around the corner she sensed two guards and stopped. _Okay, you can do this, _She thought to herself.

"Who's there?" The guards asked.

Sakura stumbled around the corner, spilling he drink everywhere, and clung on to one of the guards. "I'm so drunk!" She exclaimed and laughed.

"You're not supposed to be here." The other guard said.

"Oh, but I am." Sakura slured, "One of you guys came and got me, said Kentaro wanted to see me. Uh oh. I think I left him at the ladies room." Sakura laughed, "I had to go so bad, you know how these drinks can run through you." She said taking a sip from her drink.

The guards looked at one aonther, and shruged. The guard with the key opened the door, and Sakura walked in. A fat man was lying on a bed with other girls, looking out the window of the skybox at the scene of girls below him. It took him a minute to notice Sakura. "Who are you?" He snarled.

Sakura swayed her way over to Kentaro. She squeezed her way between him and a girl that seemed to be glued to him. "My name is Paradise," She whispered into his ear, "but you can call me whatever, and do whatever you want." Sakura said, nearly gaging in her mouth.

Kentaro smiled big, "Is that so?" He asked as his hand made its way up the inside of her shirt.

Sakura "accidntly" spilled the rest of her drink on him, and he quickly retreated. She faked a gasp, "Kentaro-san, I'm so sorry!"

Instead of being mad, Kentaro smirked, "Ladies, it's time for you to leave." All the girls whined, but got up, and glared at Sakura as they passed her to leave. Kentaro grabbed a towel and handed it to Sakura. "Clean me up." He said, as he unbuttened his shirt.

Sakura did as she was told. "Kentaro-san, I'm so honored to finally meet you." She faked.

Suddenly Sakura was reversed and Kentaro was pinning her down to the bed. "I know who you are, akatsuki. I'm no fool." He said.

Sakura kicked him off of her, and ran to the other side of the room. She tried to gather her chakra, but nothing happened, she tried again, but nothing. She began to panic inwardly, when she heared Kentaro laugh. "You're wandering whats wrong, arent you?" He said as he calmly walked toward her, "You think I'd just let some ninjas in here, without taking any measure? Foolish girl."

Regardless of what he said Sakura still tried to gether her chakra. "You son of a bitch! What did you do to me?" Suddenly she found it hard to even stand, she was so tired.

"You still don't understand?" He asked while taking his time strolling toward her. "Well let me explain, since you wont be around much longer, after I have my way with you." He laughed and continued, "In each drink, we put another special ingredient, one which I made up myself. It drains your chakra, with every movement you make, and as it drains your chakra you naturally become weaker."

"I'm not weak!" She yelled at him, as her knees almost buckled but she grabbed the wall for support and held herself up.

Kentaro was now infront of her. "I wouldn't fight this," He said while reaching out to touch her, "Or you'll miss all the fun." He laughed, when suddenly a dark blur appeared between them. Kentaro's hand hit the floor, and he stumbled backwards, gasping.

Itachi was holding a bloody katana. "Don't touch her." He growled, and went in for another attack.

"Itachi…" Sakura mumbled, while sliding down the wall.

Kentaro parried, "Guards!" He scramed.

"There's no use, they're already dead." Itachi said.

Kentaro stepped near Sakura, and with all her might she pulled out a kunai and stabbed him. It didn't do much damage, but it distracted him. "You bitch!" He said and slapped her, with a kunai in his hand. The blade skimmed Sakura's cheek, and blood made a quick trail down her face. Kentaro quickly went to turn around to resume with Itachi, but was stabbed in the chest with Itachi's katana. "You shouldn't get distracted so easily by a pretty women." Itachi said to him, as he pulled his sword out. Kentaro fell to the ground lifelessly.

He walked over to Sakura, and knealed down, so their eyes were level. "Get up." He demanded.

Sakura tried as hard as she could but each attempt landed her on her butt again. Itachi sighed, but reluctently picked her up bridal style. He froze.

_He picked the pink-haired girl up bridal style, and walked to her home._

"_Itachi?" Sakura asked quietly._

"_Hn?"_

"_T-There's been rumors…" She paused, "T-That you killed her…"_

_Itachi looked down at her with hurt. "Do you believe I did?"_

"_No." _

_He silently put her down in front of her house. She began to open the door but quickly turned back to Itachi. "I know you didn't do it." With that she quickly entered the house._

He nearly Dropped Sakura. They both were breathing hard. Sakura held tightly to his robe and looked up to him, "Itachi-san, why does that…" _happen? _She asked as she slipped unconscious.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Hey everyone. Thank you all for reading my story! Here's chapter seven. Please review, and **enjoy**!

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Concerns**_

Itachi ran with Sakura in his arms all the way back to the hide out. He walked through the front door, and walked over to where Deidara and Kisame where sitting on the couch.

Kisame poured some more sake into a cup, "It's about time the two of you got back." He said without looking up.

"We thought you two were actually having trouble, yeah." Deidara said, then looked up. The color left his face. "What happened to Sakura-chan?!" Deidara asked concerned. Kisame looked up.

"Move." Itachi demanded. They both got of the couch quickly. Itachi set Sakura down carefully. She was still unconscious.

"What's wrong with her, yeah?" Deidara asked, while running over to her. He observed her. Her cloths were torn, she had dried blood all over her body, cuts and bruises, two bruises which stuck out to him: hand prints around her wrists. He traced his hands over her wrists. "What the hell happened?" Deidara whispered.

Kisame stood between Deidara and Itachi. "She'll be fine. Her chakra is just fully depleted." Itachi said, as he sat on the arm of the couch.

Sakura suddenly groaned. All three of the boys looked at her. Her eyes began to flicker open. She groaned again. "Itachi-san…" She whispered. They all leaned in. "I didn't get to say thank you, Itachi-san." She closed her eyes again, and drifted off.

Kisame and Deidara looked at Itachi. They both smirked.

"Look's like someone really does have feelings." Kisame teased.

Itachi glared at him. "She is essential to the organization."

"C'mon Itachi, admit it." Kisame said.

"Admit what?" Itachi said in a deadly tone.

"Sakura-chan's growing on you, yeah." Deidara added.

"Pinkie's grown on us all, even though I hate to admit it." Kisame admitted.

Itachi glared at them both, "Sakura-san is merely a teammate, I just finished our mission since she was incapable to."

"Why didn't you leave her to die, yeah?" Deidara pressed on.

Itachi walked up to Deidara, "Like I said, she's an asset to our organization. Now shut up or I _will_ kill you." Itachi walked out of the room.

Deidara smirked, as Kisame laughed. "What are you smirking at? You just signed your death wish."

"He wouldn't kill me, yeah." Deidara's smirk widened.

"What makes you so sure?" Kisame asked.

Deidara smiled as he looked at Sakura. "Sakura-chan." He said simply.

Kisame raised his eyebrow, "How does pinky fit into any of that?"

"If he were to kill me, Sakura-chan would be upset and we know that when Sakura-chan gets upset, Itachi gets all weird, yeah."

Kisame laughed, "That's true. Almost as if he cares." Kisame looked at the clock, "Well, I'm off to bed."

"Me too, yeah." Deidara said. "Should we leave her here or should we take her to her room?"

Kisame thought for a moment. "Hmm…" He paused, "Lets take Pinky to her room."

Deidara nodded. They both went to pick her up, but when they touched Sakura, she spoke.

"No, no." She struggled, "Don't touch me." She mumbled. "D-don't." She said, as they let go. She began to toss and turn furiously. "Stop it," She said loudly, "Stop!" She screamed, as she bolted upright.

"What's going on?" A serious voice asked. Deidara and Kisame quickly turned around to find Itachi suddenly standing behind them. They both quickly stepped away from Sakura.

"We were just trying to pick up Pinky and put her in her room." Kisame explained.

Sakura looked confused. "I'm sorry." She said as she looked down, "I had a bad dream. I can get to my room on my own." She attempted to get up, and when she took a step she fell down.

Deidara caught her. "It's okay, Sakura-chan. You're not yourself right now."

"No." Sakura pushed herself off of him. She stumbled a couple steps, and paused. "Good night every one." She continued to walk the rest of the way to her room. Itachi began to walk after her.

"Itachi," Deidara began, and Itachi stopped. "Make sure she gets to her room alright, yeah?"

"Hn." Itachi shrugged. He walked into the room, Sakura was on the floor trying to lift herself onto the bed. He walked in and sat on the bed. "Trying to get into my bed already, Sakura-san?" He asked, while closing his eyes.

"Huh?" Sakura looked around and realized that this wasn't her room. "You're a perv." She said teasingly. She attempted to get up, but couldn't. "I can't do it." She said sadly, "I give up." She whispered.

Itachi opened his eyes. "The Sakura-san I know wouldn't give up."

Sakura laughed, "Itachi-san, you don't know the real Sakura, you've only known me for a year."

Itachi didn't say anything, but rather ignored her.

"Itachi-san?" Sakura asked shyly.

"Hn?"

"Every time we come in contact, I…" Then she was interrupted.

"Shh…" He said as he stood up. Then she sensed it too. It was ANBU, Konoha ANBU. "Stay here." He said and quickly disappeared.

Kisame and Deidara were already standing in the living room when Itachi walked in.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" Deidara asked.

"In my room." Itachi said. It was obvious Deidara was jealous, but said nothing.

"Should we go after them?" Kisame asked.

"They're a waste of time." Itachi said, turning around.

"They're getting closer, yeah." Deidara said.

"They won't find us. We all masked our chakra." Kisame said.

They all stood silent for a moment. Then they realized that Sakura didn't. They all ran to Itachi's room. Sakura was lying asleep on Itachi's bed.

"Oi, Pinky!"

Sakura roughly woke up, "Huh?"

"Mask your chakra." Itachi seriously said.

Sakura did as she was told. "What is it?"

"Do you know the meaning of a hideout, Pinky?" Kisame said sarcastically.

"It'd be a shame, if they found out where we hide, unless we wanted to be found, yeah." Deidara said coincidently.

"I think they're gone." Sakura said, as she laid back down. She quickly fell asleep again.

The three boys sat quietly. Deidara sat on the floor leaning against the bed, Kisame sat in a chair next to Itachi's desk, and Itachi sat next to Sakura.

"Well, I'm beat, yeah." Deidara said, breaking the silence.

"Good night." Kisame said.

Deidara paused, "Aren't you guys coming with?"

Kisame stood up, "Yeah, I'd better get some sleep."

Itachi looked amused, "Why should I? This is my room."

"Sakura-chan is sleeping, though, in _your_ bed, yeah." Deidara said angrily.

"Sakura can choose where she wants to sleep." Itachi mocked.

"We'll I'm not leaving her alone with you, yeah." Deidara said sitting back down.

"Great," Kisame said, "Now I can't leave you two alone." He sat back down.

"Suit your self." Itachi said.

Throughout the night they all stayed awake. Itachi kept his eyes close, but felt Deidara glaring at him all night. Kisame leaned back in the chair observing the two. The sun began to seep through the blinds. As if on cue, Sakura woke up. She had always woken up at sunrise. She sat up, observing her surroundings.

Deidara was the first to notice. "Sakura-chan, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She said in an annoyed tone.

Deidara sat back down, hurt.

"I'm going to go for a run." Sakura announced while standing up. "I'll be back later."

"I'll go with you, yeah." Deidara said.

"No!" Sakura yelled. She placed her hands on her temples. "Sorry, Deidara. I just want to be alone." With that she ran out of the room.

Deidara turned to Itachi. "What happened to Sakura last night?"

Itachi opened his eyes, "It's not my business to tell, if Sakura-san wanted you to know, she would tell you." Itachi paused, "Now get out of my room." He said in a deadly voice.

Kisame and Deidara left. Itachi waited a moment before getting up and walking out of his room. He closed the door behind him.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Naruto sat on his bed and stared at a picture. Suddenly a figure rolled over in his bed.

"Naruto, are you awake already?" The figure asked.

"It's been a year, Nezzumi." Naruto said, naming the figure. "A whole year, since she's been gone. Why would she join the akatsuki? She loved Konoha."

"Maybe she was meant to be there…" Nezzumi paused, "Maybe she was meant to be with my brother."

Naruto looked at her doubtfully. He shook his head. "Itachi is bad, and Sakura is good. There's no…"

"I don't believe that." Nezzumi interrupted. "My brother is good."

"He tried to kill you." Naruto pressed.

Nezzumi shook her head. "No, I don't believe that was him. I know he's innocent."

Naruto looked at her like she was crazy. "Then what about the massacre?" He questioned.

She was silent for a moment. Then she whispered, "I know he's innocent."

Naruto placed the picture of him, Sakura, and Sasuke on the nightstand next to their bed. He hugged Nezzumi. "I think it's time we tried looking for her again."

"Yes."


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: **_**Happy Thanksgiving!!!**_Enjoy!

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Love and Hate**_

Sakura ran. She just kept running from the hideout. She hated the feeling of weakness. She hated the fact that when every time she came in contact with Itachi, she had some wired vision. How every time when she would try to bring it up to Itachi something would get in the way. It freaked her out, that she always felt apart of her missing. Surprisingly, when she was with Itachi she didn't feel that way. She shook away her thoughts. Suddenly, she noticed someone to the right of her, but it was too late. She was pinned against a tree.

"Tell me where my brother is, akatsuki." The voice said.

"Sasuke?" Sakura's hat slowly slipped off. Her bright, jade eyes met his dark, clouded eyes.

Sasuke's dark eyes widened slightly, in surprise for a moment, before returning back to a glare. His grip tightened on Sakura. He looked at her robes, almost unsure of what to say. "Is this a joke, Sakura?" He asked angrily.

Sakura looked down, "No." She said seriously.

He gripped her wrists even more tightly. "How could you? You know this means you're helping my brother. Even after everything he's done to us!" Sasuke paused for a moment. "Ah, that's right. You don't remember anything." He smirked, "Tell me, Sakura, has Itachi told you anything?"

Sakura slowly shook her head, "Told me about what?"

Sasuke's smirk widened. "Then I plan to tell you everything." Sasuke leaned closely in, then quickly withdrew.

"That wont be necessary, little brother."

"Itachi." Sasuke growled. He quickly let go of Sakura and went to attack. He quickly plunged his sword into Itachi's neck, and with a puff of smoke Itachi turned into a tree branch. When Sasuke looked back to Sakura, she was gone. Sasuke placed his foot on the log and pulled his sword out. _Her skills have improved, _He thought, _She used a replacement spell to distract me, Itachi was never here. _His eyes narrowed. _If only you knew, Sakura._

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Sakura ran though the woods. _He has so much hate toward his brother, he didn't even realize that that was just a replacement jutsu. _Sakura stepped from branch to branch. Each step she took was light. She stopped a few trees before the hidden compound. She took deep breaths. She sat down on the branch, leaning against the trunk of the tree. The sun was setting as she starred off into the open sky. Sakura seemed so confused about everything. Sakura stared into the sky, as if hoping for an answer. It was completely dark now. She felt as if there were no answers for her there. Sakura got up and went back into the hidden compound.

When she walked in, everything was dark. She could only sense Itachi's aura, but the others were gone. When she entered her dark room a pair of sharingan eyes pierced through the darkness at her. "Itachi-san, is there something I could help you with."

Itachi eyed her suspiciously. "Why are you breathing so hard, Sakura-san?"

"I just got back from working out." She lied.

He could feel his brother's chakra close by, and knew Sakura was lying, but ignored the situation completely.

"Sakura-san, you may recall a couple of days ago, I had needed you to heal my eyes."

Ah, yes, how could Sakura forget? He had pushed his way into her room, right after she had gotten out of the shower. "Yes, Itachi-san, I do remember. However, I do not believe that's a very nice way of asking." Sakura said as she turned on the light. Itachi was sitting in a chair next to her bed. He was glaring at her.

"Where's Sharkface and Deidara?" Sakura asked.

"They're on a mission." Itachi answered in a careless voice.

"I see." Sakura paused, "I was wandering when you'd come to me about your eyes."

Itachi raised his eyebrow, questioning her.

Sakura explained, "Ever since I started working at the Konoha hospital, I've had Kakashi-sensei come see me about his eye. The more he would use his sharingan, the worse his eyesight had gotten. This is what this is about, is it not?"

Itachi slowly nodded.

"Well, I don't mind helping you, but I want you to ask me." Sakura said with a smirk.

Itachi glared at her, "You are the akatsuki medic. You are to do as ordered. There is no asking."

"I'm sorry, Itachi-san." Sakura sighed, as she walked toward her bed. "I just have other medical priorities at the moment."

Itachi growled inwardly, "Fix my eyes." He paused for a long moment. "…Please." He demanded.

Sakura smiled, it wasn't a question, but he said please. _That's more I'll probably ever get out of him_. "Sure, Itachi-san. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" She turned toward Itachi. She looked into his eyes for a moment. "Hmm." She thought to herself. She got up and got a pad of paper and a pen. She quickly sat back down in front of Itachi. She reached out to grab Itachi's face, but he quickly pulled back. It was silent for a moment. "Itachi-san, if you want me to heal your eyes, you're going to have to trust me."

Itachi said nothing. Sakura tried again. She slowly placed her hands on his chin.

Itachi could feel the warmth of Sakura's hands against his face. It felt refreshing to him.

Sakura focused on his eyes as she moved his face around. She quickly jotted down some notes before continuing to look into his eyes. "I'm going to need you to deactivate your sharingan." Sakura said bluntly.

Itachi looked as if he disapproved, but he hesitantly deactivated them. He slowly opened his eyes and met Sakura's jade orbs. Sakura gasped inwardly, and blushed a little. "Itachi-san, you have very nice eyes." She said as she continued to inspect them. She wrote down more notes.

"Hn."

"Okay, I'm going to need you to close your eyes. You'll feel a tingling sensation. Don't worry that's normal." Sakura said as she placed the note pad and pen on her bed, and scooted closer to Itachi.

Itachi hesitantly closed his eyes. Sakura brought her hands up to Itachi's temples. Her hands suddenly became bright with a blue aura. Everything was going good until Sakura suddenly couldn't control herself.

_His grip was tight around her forearms. "Sakura…" He began, "Please believe me." He said in a low desperate voice. _

_Sakura whined, "You're hurting me!" She struggled to be free from his grip._

_Itachi lowered his head in shame and quickly loosened his grip. "Please forgive me." He whispered in her ear. Even lower he whispered, "Remember that I love you."_

_Sakura fell to the ground, "I love you." She managed to whisper before falling unconscious._

Sakura quickly let go of Itachi. She was trembling uncontrollably. Her breathing picked up. "Okay Itachi-san, That's all."

Itachi opened his eyes.

"It's better now, right?" She asked, trying to control her breathing. She tried to make her discomfort unnoticeable.

Itachi actvated his sharingan and smiled awkwardly. "Yes." He said trying to catch his breath as well.

"Good, you should see me once a week. I'll monitor your progress from there and let you know, how often you should see me. You may leave now." She began to get up to show Itachi the door, but Itachi caught her wrist. Sakura quickly looked to him, shocked.

"Thank you." He whispered. Then he began for the door.

"Itachi-san…" Sakura called.

Itachi stopped and turned toward her. "Hn?"

"Why…" She paused for a long moment, "…Why don't you get some sleep…it'll help your eyes."

Itachi nodded and left. Sakura quickly got up to close the door behind him. She slid down against the door. That last vision was just too much for her. Sakura actually began to cry silently. What was going on? She, so badly, wanted to make sense of the situation, but couldn't. She felt helpless, and empty. She missed her friends from Konoha, she missed learning from Tsunade-sama, but most of all, she missed the piece of her that was missing.

Sakura honestly didn't know what to make of these dreams she kept having, but the last one defiantly topped it off. She began to remember what she had seen.

_Even lower he whispered, "Remember that I love you."_

_Sakura fell to the ground, "I love you." She managed to whisper before falling unconscious._

What was going on? Love…love!?!? And of all the people she could dream about, it was Itachi. What was wrong with her? She continued to cry silently. She just let the tears roll down her face. She felt so weak, so worthless. Her eyes began to grow heavy, and she laid down in front of the door. Slowly the tears stopped and she fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Please Review, and ENJOY!**

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**Emotions/Jealousy**_

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She was still on her floor, next to the door. She sat up. She was still wearing her robe. She sat there a moment, she felt sick. She decided to get up and find something to eat. She opened her door, and peered into the hallway. She walked out into the clear hallway, and into the kitchen. Deidara was rummaging through the fridge and didn't notice her. "Good morning, Deidara."

Sakura grabbed his attention. "Good morning. Sit down, Sakura-chan. I'll make us some breakfast, yeah."

Sakura didn't object. She quickly sat down. "When did you and Sharkface get back?" She asked with a smile.

"This morning, yeah." Deidara said while pulling out some eggs. "Kisame is sleeping." He began to cook the eggs. "Do you want to train later?" He asked, as he scrambled the eggs.

Sakura smirked. "I'm surprised you aren't tired of being beat, Deidara." She giggled jokingly.

Deidara laughed, "You know you only beat me because I was going easy on you."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked curiously, as Deidara placed a plate in front of her.

Deidara turned off the stove. "Yeah, I was only going about fifty percent on you." He brought the pan over to Sakura's plate, and poured some eggs.

Sakura stabbed her eggs, and roughly bit it off the fork. "I somehow doubt you did, but we'll see after breakfast, ne?"

"Yes, we will." He said, as he sat next to her with a plate of his own.

"Thanks, for breakfast Deidara." She pause, and smiled, "Too bad I'm going to have to beat it out of you."

"You keep wishing, yeah." He said as he took a bite of eggs.

"Just make sure you don't go "easy" on me this time." Sakura said, with an amused smile on her face.

Deidara laughed, "I don't intend to."

Suddenly Itachi walked into the room. Deidara noticed Sakura become really quiet. "Oi, Itachi, Sakura and I are going to fight later. You should come watch. That way we have a witness."

Itachi almost glared at Deidara. "I have no intention of watching Sakura-san beat you to a pulp."

Deidara crossed his arms against his chest. "She has yet to beat me, Itachi."

Itachi looked amused. "Perhaps."

Deidara glared at him.

"If she wanted a real challenge, she'd go against Kisame. Instead of beating you over and over again."

Deidara stood up, "You shouldn't be so full of yourself, Itachi. _You _probably couldn't even beat me."

Itachi glared at Deidara, "You should stop trying to show off in front of Sakura-san. She obviously has no affection for you. And as for your ridiculous comment, if you really wish to die, then by all means, lets go outside."

Deidara attempted to punch Itachi, but Sakura was faster. She jumped in front of Itachi, and came into contact with Deidara's fist. Deidara gasped, and Itachi's eyes widened slightly, for only a moment.

Sakura exhaled. Her eyes narrowed, as she looked up at Deidara. A trail of blood dripped down the corner of her mouth. "This needs to stop." Sakura said as she clenched her fist. "I don't know what just got into you two, but it needs to stop." Sakura said with force.

Deidara looked as if he was in a state of shock. "S-Sakura-san…" He paused, "I-I-I'm sorry."

Itachi smirked, "You see what happens when you let your feelings get in the way."

Deidara sent an intense glare toward Itachi. "At least I have feelings, yeah."

Itachi returned a glare. "Sakura-san." Itachi spoke, breaking Sakura's concentration.

Sakura turned to Itachi. Itachi gently whipped the blood from her mouth. "Perhaps, you would like to tell Deidara otherwise."

Sakura knew what he was talking about. She suddenly had a flashback, of her memory.

_Itachi lowered his head in shame and quickly loosened his grip. "Please forgive me." He whispered in her ear. Even lower he whispered, "Remember that I love you."_

_Sakura fell to the ground, "I love you." She managed to whisper before falling unconscious._

Sakura didn't know what to say. She was silent. "Itachi…"

Itachi leaned closely in and whispered into Sakura's ear, "Tell him. Tell him how I care. If you don't, I'll show him."

Sakura looked up into Itachi's eyes. Her jade orbs met his sharingan. They seemed soft.

"Sakura-san…" She heard Deidara growl.

Sakura waited a moment before turning away from Itachi. "Deidara-san, no one is heartless. Not even Itachi…-san"

Deidara couldn't believe what Sakura was saying. He was speechless. His fists clenched tightly. "I don't believe it, Sakura-chan. How could you say that?"

"You still don't believe me, Deidara?" Itachi asked. "Then I guess, I'll have to demonstrate." He suddenly turned Sakura around and kissed her passionately. Sakura was stiff, at first, but quickly began to enjoy it. She felt Itachi pull her body closer to his, and she let her body rest against his until they were abruptly torn apart.

Deidara had attacked Itachi. Deidara tried to punch Itachi many different times, but Itachi kept dodging Deidara's attacks. Sakura couldn't believe what was going on. What had she done? Itachi had made his way to the front door, and slipped outside. Deidara furiously followed.

Sakura ran outside. Deidara was already up in the sky, on his clay bird. Itachi was patiently waiting on the ground. He would occasionally dodge one of Deidara's bombs with ease. Sakura ran out to where they were fighting. She stopped suddenly. _Where did Itachi go? _She wandered, before she felt a pair of hands grab her forearms.

"Sakura-san," Itachi whispered, "forgive me."

Sakura fell to the ground, unconscious. _No…_

"What did you do to Sakura-chan?" Deidara yelled.

"We wouldn't want her to interfere would we?" Itachi said.

Deidara smirked, "No, we wouldn't."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

_Come one, Sakura, wake up! _Sakura's conscious urged her. She couldn't open her eyes, and she couldn't hear anything. _What happened? _She could suddenly hear the noise around her. _No! Itachi-san, Deidara, they'll kill each other! I need to stop this. Wake up, Sakura! _Her eyes began to flutter opened. A pierce pain shot through her head. She quickly clutched her head with her hand. She looked at the scene before her. Kisame had joined the fight, but he was on the defense. Surely he was trying to calm the two down, it looked like he was trying to pry the two off each other. Deidara looked roughened up, and Itachi didn't even have a scratch on him. Sakura was thankful that Deidara was still alive.

Sakura quickly got up and ran toward Kisame. "Kisame!"

Kisame turned his attention to her, "It's about time Pinky! You've been out nearly three hours." He watched Sakura's eyes widen for a moment, before continuing. "You go after Deidara, and I'll get Itachi."

"Yes." They both ran to their target.

Sakura ran to the treetops, "Deidara!" She had caught his eye. He began to fly to her. When he passed, Sakura jumped onto his clay bird. "Deidara, please stop." She said as she went to touch his hand.

Deidara pulled away. "Why did you let him kiss you?"

"Why do you care? You know that's the reason why he's doing this. He's doing this to _get _to you!" Sakura yelled as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Deidara didn't say anything, for a moment. Then he suddenly became enraged. "No, Sakura-chan. You don't understand. You didn't even defend me!" He rushed Sakura.

Sakura stumbled back. She stepped too far, and fell off Deidara's clay bird. She screamed as she fell toward the ground. She heard Deidara yell her name. She continued to fall. She could see the ground underneath her. She expected to hit the ground, but instead she landed in Itachi's arms. They both fell to the ground, because of the impact. "Itachi…"

Itachi looked beyond pissed. "Stay here." Itachi ran straight to Deidara.

Sakura watched as Deidara was almost done with making a big clay bomb. Sakura knew Itachi was blinded with anger. Suddenly Deidara dropped the bomb, and Itachi was running right into it.

"Itachi-san!" Sakura ran to Itachi. When she caught up to him, she pushed him to the ground just before deidara's bomb exploded right in front of them. Both Itachi and Sakura flew into the air. Sakura refused to let go of Itachi, but the force slowly forced them apart. The both hit the ground hard, in different directions.

Sakura was barley conscious. She saw a figure stand above her. "Sakura-chan, why?! Why would you do that, you stupid girl?"

Sakura laid on the ground motionless for a moment. It began to rain hard. The thick droplets dropped against her face hard. Sakura weakly said, "Deidara, please, I'm not mad. We'll just say this was training, okay? Just please, please, go away to your room and forget what happened."

Deidara's expression saddened. Another two figures approached Sakura. "You see, Deidara, what happens when your feelings get in the way?"

Deidara glared at Itachi. He was about to say something, but was interrupted by Sakura, "Please, Deidara, just go back. This was training, nothing else. I'll be fine…" Sakura was slipping in and out of consciousness. She felt Deidara's chakra get fainter, before disappearing.

"Pinky, hang in there. You took the entire blow off of Itachi. He's not even scratched." Kisame stated.

Sakura smiled, "I know what I did. I'm a medic-nin. I knew what I was doing." With that last comment she coughed up blood, before slipping unconscious.

Itachi observed Sakura for a moment. She had cuts all over her body; she would need a new robe, because of all the rips and tears. A bruise was already forming where Deidara had hit her before. Surely she had broken a couple bones. Blood covered her body. Itachi carefully picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. He motioned at Kisame to start back to the hideout.

"Well, that was one intense training." Kisame laughed hard.

"Hn." Itachi paused, then smirked, "It barley made me sweat."


	11. Chapter 10

_**Chapter Ten**_

_**Sudden remembrance**_

Sakura bolted upright. She was alone in the living room, sitting on the couch. She was trembling all over, and tears made their way down her cheeks. She suddenly made her way to Itachi's room. She clutched her ribs on the way, because of her medical training she knew she broke three of them. She went down the empty hallway. Itachi's door was closed, but she abruptly opened it. "Itachi…" Her voice sounded half mad, and half sad.

Itachi's sharingan eyes pierced through the darkness, "What happened to your formality, Sakura-san?"

Sakura turned the light on. Itachi could see tears in her eyes, "I remember everything!" She shouted. Itachi stood up. Sakura approached him, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Sakura began to hit Itachi in the chest, and he let her. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you let me keep my memory? I've felt a part of me missing this whole time, and it was you!" Sakura calmed her breathing, but continued to hit Itachi. "Why didn't you ask me to go with you?" Itachi caught her by the wrists. Sakura stopped hitting him and collapsed into him. "Why?" She cried even harder. Itachi embraced her in a hug.

"I did it to protect you." Itachi whispered. He didn't even try to hide it. He missed her too much to.

"To protect me? Itachi, I believed you, when you said you were innocent. I-I Lo…" She quickly looked away and paused while tears rolled down her face.

Itachi lifted her chin with his hand. "Say it."

"I don't think I can. I'm so hurt right now." Sakura looked down again.

Itachi brought her chin back up, "I meant what I said, when I left."

Sakura smiled slightly, "Then why did you make me forget?"

"I didn't." Itachi objected. "I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't make you forget your past, but rather made it so when you were ready to remember, you would."

Sakura cried into Itachi's chest. Itachi took her robe off, and laid her down on the bed. "Your ribs are broken." He observed.

She nodded, still crying. "They could've waited." She brought her hands up to her ribs, and started to heal them.

Itachi looked concerned, "You shouldn't have interfered." He said sternly.

"It was just instinct to protect you." She said with a weak smile.

He brushed his hand over the bruise Deidara made on her face. "I wanted to kill him, when he hit you. I could've blocked easily."

"I know." Sakura said, "I wanted to make a clear point." Sakura finished healing her ribs. They were still soar, though. She leaned over to Itachi. "Let me heal your eyes now." Itachi nodded. Sakura sat up and began to reach out to touch Itachi, but stopped. She was remembering the last time she fixed his eyes. "Itachi?"

"Hn?" He replied.

"Did you see it too? I mean," She thought for a moment, "I guess, they were flashbacks of my past. Did you see them too, when we touched each other?"

"Yes, Sakura, I did. It hurt every time." He said honestly.

"Close your eyes." Sakura demanded as she touched his temples. Her hands glowed blue. She stopped. "Okay, open." Itachi did as he was told. Sakura examined his eyes. She held up a finger. "Follow my finger." She began to move her finger around, and smiled. "They look better. Do they feel better?"

Itachi nodded. They were silent for a long moment, until Itachi spoke again. "Sakura, I'm sorry for what I've put you through."

Sakura began to weep again, and Itachi held her close. They both laid down on the bed. Eventually Sakura cried herself to sleep, and shortly after Itachi began to feel sleepy. _Sakura, I promise I will always protect you. I love you. _With that thought, Itachi fell asleep as well.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The entire ANBU stood before the hokage. The hokage stood silently for a moment, before speaking. "I'm sure most of you are aware of the situation here. Sakura is with the akatsuki, and she has valuable Konoha information. It's time to make the akatsuki our primary target." The hokage paused for a long moment, her attitude changed, "I have something to inform you all on. This is top secret and must remain between the ANBU. As you know, Sakura was announced a missing-nin, a little more then a year ago. The truth is, she was kidnapped by the akatsuki, an elected herself to be a spy. Every time she would come in contact with Kakashi, she would give him some inside information on the akatsuki. This was consistent, until six months ago. That was the last time we've heard from her. Do everything in your power to get Sakura back alive. Everyone leaves tomorrow morning. Kakashi, Naruto, and Nezzumi, stay a bit. The rest of you, are dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am." The entire squad said before disappearing, leaving three ANBU behind.

The three walked up to Tsunade. Tsunade waited a moment, "This has gotten out of hand. We haven't heard back from Sakura in six months. Something's wrong. She's either dead, or she is an official missing nin."

Naruto stood silent. He was shaking with anger, Nezzumi noticed. She lightly brushed her hand over his. "Why didn't you tell us any of this?!" Naruto screamed furiously, making Nezzumi flinch. "I can't believe you two knew about this and didn't even let Nezzumi and me know? You made us think she betrayed us this whole time!"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Naruto, you know why I couldn't tell you. First, it would've been a conflict of interest, and you would've put Sakura's life in danger. Not to mention, yours (even more so), and Nezzumi's."

Naruto was still shaking with anger. Nezzumi looked down. Kakashi was kneeling down, silently, until he broke the silence, "It doesn't matter now. Sakura either needs our help, or she needs a good beating to bring her back."

Naruto looked determined, "We will bring her back. No matter what, I'll bring her back." He growled.

Nezzumi smiled, "That's right! We wont let her get away this time." She suddenly got nervous, "Itachi still doesn't know I'm alive." Tears welled in her eyes.

Naruto embraced her. "It'll be fine Nezzumi. If anything, that works to our advantage, right? He'll be so shocked that you're still alive that we can take Sakura-chan back, no problem."

"True." Nezzumi said sadly. Her sharingan eyes narrowed. "I'm going to confront my brother. He should know I'm alive."

Naruto looked shocked, "Nezzumi, you could put your life in danger by doing that."

"Perhaps, but I don't believe I would be. I need to do this, please." Nezzumi looked to Tsunade for conformation.

Tsunade nodded. "If that's how you feel, then you may let him know you're alive, but be smart about it, don't get yourself killed."

Nezzumi nodded, with a slight smile. Naruto crossed his hands. "It's a bad idea." He protested.

"It's already been decided, Naruto." Tsunade stated sternly. "Now, you all leave in the morning. You are dismissed."

Naruto reluctantly left Tsunade's office after Nezzumi. Kakashi waited a moment, "Tsunade-sama, do you think it's wise to let Nezzumi confront her brother, and send Naruto right to the akatsuki?"

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Kakashi, Nezzumi is going to do what she wants, weather or not we allow her. She'll make sure both of her brothers know she's alive. As for Naruto, he's determined to get Sakura back. No, it's not wise to send him to the akatsuki, but I believe that he'll be fine. He will get Sakura back, I know it."

Kakashi nodded. "It'll be nice to have Sakura back, ne?"

"Yes, it would." She paused, "But we cannot assume that she is the same Sakura that we knew."

Kakashi nodded. He sighed. "Good night, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade waved him off. Kakashi jumped out the window, and disappeared into the dark.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Sakura woke up when she felt the warmth against her leave. She sat up in Itachi's bed. Itachi was standing by the window. She walked over to him, and looked out the window. Besides the rain, everything seemed still outside. Sakura made her way into Itachi's embrace. "Itachi, what's wrong?"

"Something isn't right." He mumbled.

"You feel it too?" She asked, "I feel like something big is going to happen."

"Nothing will happen to you, as long as I'm around." Itachi said.

"I know." Sakura replied. "I won't ever let anything happen to you either." She smiled.

Itachi slightly smiled. He kissed Sakura on the forehead.

"Itachi?"

"Hn?" He replied.

"Why don't we go back to bed?"

Itachi smirked, "Is that what you want, Sakura?" He playfully pushed her onto his bed.

Sakura smiled. "Are you going to kiss me again?"

"Well…" Before he could answer, Sakura pulled him down to her lips. She pulled him as close as she could get him to her. They kissed passionately, neither of them wanted to stop. Itachi began to move his hands alone Sakura's curves. Slowly they pulled apart; her jade orbs met his sharingan. "I love you, Sakura."

Sakura let a tear escape her eye. "I love you, Itachi."

Itachi whipped away the tear. "You shouldn't cry when you're with me."

More tears came, "I know. I'm just…I'm just so happy I finally remember." She paused for a moment, "You have no idea how much I missed you."

He kissed her forehead, "I think I have some idea." His expression saddened.

"I wish you would've taken me with you."

"Well, it wasn't safe for you, trust me." He paused for a moment, "What's done is done."

Sakura nodded, as she rolled over. "Yes, and at least now we have each other."

Itachi climbed over her, and laid next to her. He embraced her tightly. "Nothing will separate us again."

Sakura leaned against his chest and quickly fell asleep. Itachi stayed awake, he felt the need to protect Sakura. He held her close. Something just wasn't right, he disliked this feeling. He closed his eyes and enjoyed Sakura's warmth. He was glad that she remembered and understood. He couldn't shake the feeling and was disturbed all night.


	12. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**Forgiven Apologies**_

Deidara walked down the hall when the sun came up. He knew Sakura would be up this early for training. He stood in front of her door and knocked it. "Sakura-chan, I'm sorry about yesterday. Please open the door." He knocked again more loudly. "Sakura-chan!" He whined, "I want to apologize. Please open the door, yeah."

As if it was on cue, Itachi's door opened. Sakura and Itachi stood in the doorway, holding onto one another. They stopped as Deidara turned around to see them. Deidara's eyes widened. "S-Sakura-chan…"

"Deidara." Sakura said in acknowledgment. Itachi hugged her tighter, as if to send a message to Deidara. They began to walk past Deidara, but he grabbed Sakura's arm. Sakura flinched slightly, before looking at Deidara. Itachi sent an intense glare to him.

"Sakura-chan, what are you doing, yeah?" Deidara asked confused.

"I'm living the life I had before." Sakura said clearly, as she looked up to Itachi, with a smile.

Deidara didn't know how to respond. "Is this because of what happened yesterday? I came to apologize, yeah."

Deidara tightened his grip on Sakura's wrist and she winced slightly. Itachi noticed, and suddenly appeared in front of Deidara. Itachi had a tight grip on deidara's wrist, "If you don't let go of her wrist, I'll break yours." He said as he squeezed Deidara's wrist so hard, Deidara let go. "If you want to apologize, then do it already." He said, as he threw Deidara's wrist to the side.

Deidara glared at Itachi, then turned to Sakura, "Sakura-chan, I'm sorry about fighting with this bastard in front of you like that. I'm sorry that you were in the middle of it all."

"He's not a bastard, but I accept your apology. I…I just think we should just forget it ever happened, and everything will be fine. Okay?"

Deidara nodded. Sakura sent him a weak smile. "Good." She said as she left.

Itachi and Deidara stood in the hallway alone. They glared at one another. "What happened to having emotions interfere, yeah?" Deidara mocked.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "I know how to control my emotions, and unlike you _I _can _protect _Sakura."

"You better not hurt her, or I will kill you." Deidara said seriously.

Itachi smirked, "First of all, Deidara, you are incapable of killing me, and second, I would never hurt her." With that Itachi left Deidara in the hall alone.

Itachi walked into the kitchen where Sakura was sitting. He watched her smile at him, and couldn't help but return a small smile. He walked over to her and put his hands around her. "Don't ever let him touch you again," He whispered into her ear, "because you're mine." He teasingly hovered his lips over Sakura's neck before softly kissing it.

Sakura enjoyed herself, and smiled. She nodded in response, before receiving a kiss on the lips from Itachi. As Itachi held Sakura tightly, Kisame walked into the room. He looked a bit confused, but was smart enough not to question Itachi.

Instead Kisame smirked, "You two look like you're enjoying yourselves."

"Hn." Itachi replied. Sakura said nothing, but turned slightly red.

Deidara walked in next. He cringed at the sight before him. "You two make me sick, yeah."

"Don't be jealous, Deidara." Kisame said. "You always knew you and Sakura would just be friends."

Deidara glared at Kisame, Itachi smirked, and Sakura looked a little sad for her friend. "Deidara, you're still one of my best friends." She said honestly.

"You don't seem to sure about that, yeah." Deidara replied.

Sakura looked a little hurt, "Deidara, you'll never understand."

"Then help me understand!" Deidara yelled.

Sakura looked up to Itachi. He reluctantly nodded. She gave him a quick kiss before getting up. "Come on Deidara, let's go for a walk. Just you and me."

Deidara smiled, and walked out the door behind Sakura. They walked through the forest for hours. Sakura explained her whole past with Itachi to Deidara. She explained how she and Itachi used to be childhood friends, how they were in love with each other, and how she temporarily lost her memory.

Deidara stayed quiet the whole time. Even after Sakura stopped talking, he was still quiet for a few minutes absorbing all the information. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked from the hazy morning sky to Deidara, "Hmm?"

"I'm really sorry for how I've been acting. I understand now, and I'm happy for you, yeah." He said with a smile.

Sakura jumped on him, and gave him a big hug. "Thank you, Deidara."

Deidara hugged her back, before he felt someone glare intensely at him. He opened his eyes only to find Itachi glaring at him. He quickly let go of Sakura. Itachi walked over to Sakura and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer to him. She leaned into him.

Deidara looked at Itachi, "Congratulations, yeah." He said before shrugging and walking past them.

Itachi and Sakura walked after him. "Deidara, what do you say we all have a few dinks when we get home?" Sakura called after him.

Deidara waited for them to catch up, "Sounds good, yeah." He said with a smile.

"Hn."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The entire ANBU met at the Konoha gates, where they waited for further instruction from the Hokage. "Alright, listen carefully. When your squad is called, step forward." The Hokage unrolled a scroll. "Squad's one and two!" The two squad's stepped forward. "You're assigned to the Hidden Village of Rock."

"Yes ma'am." They said in unison, as they quickly left.

"Squads three and four." They stepped forward, "Hidden Village of Waterfall."

"Yes, ma'am." They said before disappearing.

"Squads five and six." They stepped forward, "Hidden Village of Grass."

"Yes, ma'am." They left quickly.

"Squads seven and eight." The two squads stepped forward. Naruto, Kakashi, and Nezzumi were apart of squad seven. "Hidden Village of Rain."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." With determination on their faces, they quickly left.

The Hokage finished the assignments. Nine and ten went to sand, eleven and twelve went to sound, thirteen and fourteen went to cloud, fifteen and sixteen went to mist, and seventeen and eighteen stayed to protect the village.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Deidara, Kisame, Itachi and Sakura sat around a bottle of sake. They had been drinking for a while now. Sakura leaned against Itachi. Sakura shakily picked up the sake bottle and poured some more in her cup.

"Oi, Pinky," Kisame mumbled, "Pour me some, too." Sakura laughed, as she poured some in Kisame's cup.

Deidara downed his sake. "Sakura-chan! You should pour me some too, yeah. My cup is completely empty." He mumbled as he turned his cup upside down to exaggerate.

Sakura giggled, "Sorry, Deidara. I should've known you'd want more."

Apparently Sakura forgot about the cup she poured herself, because she brought the bottle to her lips and drank from it. Itachi attempted to take away the bottle, but Sakura pulled it back and began to chug some more. Itachi reached for the bottle and this time grabbed onto it. He slowly brought it down from her mouth, and replaced his lips over hers. Itachi sneakily passed the bottle off to Kisame. Sakura moaned, underneath Itachi's lips. Itachi slowly parted from Sakura. "That's enough for you, my love."

Sakura whined, "B-but!" She protested.

"No buts, Pinky." Kisame said.

"Slow down, yeah." Deidara added.

Itachi took a drink from his cup. As much as they all had to drink, Itachi looked as if he was still sober, though he was far from it. He could always maintain a sober state, even when he wasn't.

"We've had some good times. Eh, guys?" Deidara asked.

Itachi smiled silently, as much as he hated to admit it, Kisame and Deidara were like his family, and enjoyed their company. He had forgiven Deidara's stupidity.

Kisame laughed, "Apparently some of us more then others." He gestured toward Itachi and Sakura.

Sakura's face went red, even more so then the sake already made it, and attempted to playfully hit Kisame. "You're just jealous because you're not getting any." Sakura slurred.

"Don't tempt me, Pinky." Kisame smirked, but quickly whipped it from his face when Itachi sent a glare toward him. He brought his attention to his cup of sake and drank it. He heard Sakura giggle in the background.

"To think, you guys wanted to kill me." Sakura laughed.

"I never did, yeah." Deidara protested.

Kisame laughed. "We couldn't even touch you, thanks to Itachi. Itachi even went to Leader-sama to make sure you weren't killed. He nearly killed himself in the process. Took a hell of a beating from Leader-sama, when he brought up the idea of you joining us."

Sakura turned to Itachi with wide eyes. "Itachi, why would you do that?"

He leaned into her, and whispered into her ear, "Because I couldn't loose you."

Sakura smiled weakly, she wasn't sure about how to feel. He shouldn't have done something that extreme for her, but she was happy about his reply. She sat up to kiss him. "Thanks, Itachi."

Deidara looked out the window. It was dark and pouring down rain. "Its already dark outside, yeah." He went to take another drink form his cup, but it was empty. He sighed, "Well, looks like I'm at my limit, I think I'll go pass out in my room now." He got up and stumbled to his room.

Kisame looked from Itachi to Sakura. "We'll probably be going on a mission soon. Leader-sama's been pretty quiet."

"Perhaps it's because he's been focusing on the others stationed elsewhere." Sakura suggested.

"Perhaps." Itachi said.

"I can't shake the feeling that something big is going to happen, maybe Leader-sama feels it too." Sakura hugged her knees.

"If he did, I'm sure he'd send back-up." Kisame said.

"Unless he felt we didn't need it." Sakura mentioned.

They all sat quietly for a moment, until Sakura broke the silence, "Do you feel it too, Sharkface?"

Kisame nodded, "Yeah, I feel it. Nothing we can't handle though, if it's anything at all."

"True, it may be nothing, but I feel it's too strong a feeling." Sakura replied.

They sat silent again, until Kisame got up, "Well, it's nothing to worry about. I'm getting some sleep."

He left Sakura and Itachi in the room alone. Sakura grabbed the sake bottle off the table and drank from it, only to find it empty. She pouted, and wandered where the rest of the sake went.

"I drank the rest." Itachi said, with a smirk.

Sakura smiled, "Oh, so now you can read my mind?"

"I always could." He replied.

"I know." She said, with a smile. "Are we going to sleep now."

"Who said anything about sleep?" Itachi asked with a smirk, "I'm going to keep you up all night."

Sakura laughed, and ran to their room. She stumbled through the doorway, when Itachi caught her by the waist. He carried her over to the bed. "You should be careful, Sakura, you almost fell." He set her down, and rested above her.

"Well, Itachi, we are drunk." She looked up to him as he lied on top of her. She placed her hand on his cheek. She brought his head down, so their lips were lingering over one another. They teased each other, for a moment before Itachi gave in and kissed her hard, and long. When they broke apart, they both panted hard. "More…" Sakura whispered, before kissing Itachi again.


	13. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**The Not So Dead Uchiha**_

Naruto ran ahead of both squads. He was followed by Kakashi and Nezzumi, then the rest of the squads. The three of them had determined faces. They were going to bring Sakura back, no matter what. Deep inside, all three of them felt guilty for Sakura's disappearance, even though they knew it truly wasn't their fault. They couldn't help the feeling being there. Nezzumi caught up to Naruto, and sent him a smile. He smiled back, "We'll get her back, this time, Nezzumi. We'll get her back no matter what!" They began to run faster.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Itachi hugged Sakura from underneath the covers. Sakura looked into his eyes.

"Good morning, Itachi." Sakura said with a smile.

He kissed her forehead, "Hn."

Sakura sat up on her forearms. "It's a nice day outside. It's not raining." She paused as she fully sat up. "Look, the suns out." Sakura said happily.

Itachi thought it was cute how Sakura admired such a pointless thing. Sakura pulled the sheet over her bare body and walked over to the window. She moved the curtain and looked out. "Strange, isn't it?"

"Hn?" Itachi asked.

"Well, I mean it's sunny, it's nice. Different. We should do something outside today." Sakura half asked.

Itachi walked over to her, and hugged her at her waist. "What did you have in mind?" He softly began to kiss her neck.

Sakura smiled with pleasure. "I don't know. We could go for a walk, and see where that takes us." Sakura suggested.

"Hn." Itachi mumbled.

"Well, I guess I could go by myself." She said innocently. She knew he wouldn't let her go alone.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "When?"

"Hmm…Soon." She looked suspicious.

Itachi sighed. "I'll get dressed."

Sakura smiled big, and giggled. She quickly walked next to the bed and grabbed her akatsuki robe from the floor. She set the sheet back on the bed, and began to dress herself. Sakura watched as Itachi changed his shirt. She walked over to him and touched his muscular chest. She began to kiss his chest lightly. Itachi closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he met Sakura's. He kissed her on her forehead, before continuing to put on his shirt. After Sakura finished she slipped on her robe over her fully clothed body.

Sakura and Itachi left the hide out and walked through the forest. The morning sun shown through the trees, and warmly hit their faces. "Isn't this so peaceful?" Sakura asked softly.

"Hn." Itachi stopped suddenly, and his eyes narrowed. "It's too quiet."

Suddenly a big ball of fire landed right between Sakura and Itachi. They both jumped in opposite directions, to avoid it. Before looking at the silhouetted person, they looked to each other to make sure they were okay.

"Well, well. It seems that the _great_ Uchiha Itachi has a weakness." Sharingan eyes suddenly shown through the darkness of the forest. "I must say I'm disappointed, all this time I thought you were getting better when, really, you've gotten weaker." The figure paused a moment, and stepped out of the shadows, "Who would've thought it was Sakura."

"Sasuke." Itachi growled. Sakura's eyes widened.

Suddenly Sakura ran past Itachi and attacked Sasuke. Itachi's eyes widen, and he quickly followed Sakura. He watched as Sasuke kicked Sakura hard, and sent her flying back through the air. She landed hard on the ground. Sasuke suddenly made a series of hand seals, and blew a large ring of fire, which surrounded Sakura. She was trapped inside the ring. Itachi ran to Sakura, but was blocked by the fire. He watched her slowly get up. He watched the expression on Sakura's face turn half scared, half confused.

Itachi suddenly jumped out of the way of Sasuke's attack. He landed far away. Sasuke stayed in place, smirking. "Lets keep this between us, shall we?" He said before attacking again. Itachi glared at him, before attacking.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Squads seven and eight, had been traveling for hours today, and last night was the first time they officially took a break. They suddenly stopped on a tree branch. They all listened into the distance. Naruto was the first to take off in a new direction. He was quickly followed by Kakashi, Nezzumi, then the rest of the squads.

Naruto stopped suddenly. The entire area had been destroyed. Tree's had been broken, burnt, and on fire. Craters had been formed into the ground, and a ring of fire stood in the middle. When Naruto observed further, he noticed something move from within the ring of fire. He quickly ran to the fire, and used a wind jutsu to create a hole. He ran in, "Sakura-chan!" He yelled excitedly.

Sakura looked up, tears filled her eyes. Ash covered her skin, and smoke filled her throat. "N-Naruto?" She coughed out.

"Come on." Naruto suddenly grabbed her. He created another hole, and dragged Sakura out. As Naruto dragged Sakura out, he began to ask, "Sakura-chan, where have you been?"

Suddenly a blur appeared in front of them, but passed them quickly. Instead of answering Naruto's question, Sakura ran away.

The other ANBU squads suddenly appeared behind Naruto. Naruto was confused. _Sakura-chan…?_

Sakura ran to Itachi. Itachi and Sasuke had stopped fighting for a moment. Neither of them even broke a sweat. Sakura stood next to Itachi. Suddenly they each averted their attention to the Konoha ANBU who had joined the group. Kisame, and Deidara walked up to Sakura and Itachi, and stood behind them. Their akatsuki robes blew in the wind. Everyone stood their ground, waiting for someone to attack.

Naruto growled loudly, "Sakura-chan!" He made sure Sakura was looking at him before he continued, "I'm going to bring you back, even if I have to break all you're bones." He then attacked.

Everyone separated on cue. Naruto, Nezzumi, and Kakashi went to attack Itachi and Sakura. Deidara and Kisame took on the rest of the Konoha ANBU, and Sasuke continued to attack Itachi.

Sakura swiftly avoided the attacks thrown at her. Naruto was getting very upset. He growled loudly. Itachi focused on Sasuke. They exchanged equal blows. Nezzumi watched in horror. _So, this is what has become of my brothers. _She sadly thought to herself. She suddenly jumped in front of Itachi and Sasuke. They both stopped attacking each other. Naruto noticed and instinctively ran, protectively, over to Nezzumi. Sakura hit Kakashi back, as she made her way to Itachi.

"What is this?" Sasuke asked amusingly.

Nezzumi brought her hands up to her mask, but was suddenly stopped by Naruto. "Don't do it." He said firmly.

"I have to." She whispered, as she slowly continued.

Both Sasuke and Itachi thought the voice was familiar. Their eyes both widened, when the ANBU mask was taken fully off.

"Nezzumi…" They both whispered in unison. Then both their faces tuned serious again.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Sasuke yelled, "Nezzumi is dead."

"Itachi," Sakura whispered to Itachi, "This is really Nezzumi."

"You knew?" He whispered angrily. Sakura quietly nodded.

"We must not fight." Nezzumi said firmly.

Sasuke looked mad, and began to attack Itachi again. "Itachi, what did you do?"

Everyone began attacking each other again. This time, Naruto and Kakashi joined Sasuke in attacking Itachi.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Suddenly many Naruto's appeared. They all attacked Itachi.

Kakashi made a series of seals, and two water dragons appeared. They quickly made their way in Itachi's direction.

Sasuke kept attacking him with his katana. Between every one attacking Itachi, he began to become overwhelmed. He began to get frustrated and took out all of Naruto's shadow clones, until just Naruto was left. Naruto quickly made some more shadow clones, and attacked. Itachi suddenly attacked Sasuke. He knocked Sasuke's sword from his hands. Sasuke stepped back, only to find Sakura. He grabbed Sakura and used her as a shield from Itachi. Itachi went to attack, but quickly stopped. Sakura suddenly appeared behind Sasuke. She did some hand signs and when Sasuke turned around she hit him in the chest. His eyes widened as he fell to the ground. He was paralyzed.

Sakura looked up to Itachi, and he sent her an approving smile. Sakura smiled back, before jumping back into battle. She was attacking Nezzumi, who still had her mask off. They both landed on the ground, out of breath.

"Sakura." Nezzumi began, "Why are we fighting?"

Sakura became sad. "I don't want to fight."

"Then lets not." Nezzumi suggested.

Sakura thought, "I wish it was that way, but it's not." She quickly ran up to Nezzumi, and grabbed her. Nezzumi gasped in surprise. "I remember everything, now. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Everything will be okay one day. Remember you'll always be my sister." Sakura said before knocking Nezzumi unconscious.

Sakura ran back to where Itachi was. There were hundreds of Naruto's attacking Itachi. Constantly Itachi avoided Kakashi's water dragons. As Sakura came closer, she noticed that a bunch of Naruto's already had rasengan and headed straight for Itachi. Her eyes widened. There was no way Itachi would dodge all of them, plus Kakashi's water dragons. Sakura ran faster to Itachi, she made some hand signs on the way. When she got to Itachi, she placed her hands on him. "Please forgive me." She whispered before Itachi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sakura was suddenly hit by Kakashi's water dragons and Naruto skimmed her with his rasengan.

Sakura flew through the air, and her limp body hit the ground. Everything seemed to stop at that moment, and it began to rain hard.

Kakashi and Naruto were in shock. "W-What just happened? Where did Itachi go?!" Naruto yelled in frustration, and horror.

"Only very few people know that jutsu. Only the ones closest to the Hokage, and who are highly ranked in the ANBU, know of this jutsu, let alone could do it. It's a very complicated jutsu designed to protect the Hokage. In case things every got too out of hand, we'd make the Hokage disappear and reappear somewhere safe." Kakashi paused, and looked to the bloody unconscious Sakura. He rubbed his temples before picking her up. "I can't believe she did that."

Naruto suddenly looked over to Nezzumi, she was lying on the ground. He ran over to her and picked her up. He slung her over his shoulder. Suddenly he remembered Sasuke. "Sasuke." He whispered.

Naruto and Kakashi quickly turned to where Sasuke was, but he was gone. Naruto sighed, "At least, we have Sakura-chan back."

They turned back to the direction to where the other ANBU were, and began to run towards them. They stopped at the sight before them. All the ANBU were lying on the ground. The rest of the akatsuki were nowhere to be found. Naruto and Kakashi watched as some of the ANBU suddenly became conscious and got up. They all looked to Kakashi and saw Sakura. They knew that their mission was complete and they all began to head back to Konoha.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Itachi slowly became conscious. He noticed Deidara and Kisame stand above him, looking sad. It took him a minute to make sense of things. Then he quickly sat up, and punched the coffee table in front of them. The table cracked in half, and broke. Itachi was enraged.

"What happened, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Yeah, we saw you and Pinky fighting the Kyuubi and the copy ninja, then you suddenly disappeared." Kisame added.

Itachi glared. "It's a very special jutsu I used to know. I was a very high-ranking Konoha ANBU once, and only they know how to properly protect the hokage if things get too out of hand. They use that jutsu, and it'll send the hokage to a safe place. Sakura knew that jutsu and used it on me." He clenched his fists. "Damn it! I have to get Sakura back." He got up abruptly. "I'm going to see Leader-sama. Stay here." Itachi said forcefully.


	14. Chapter 13

_**A/N: Happy Holidays! Enjoy!**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_**Escaping and Interrogation**_

Itachi walked into a dark room. He could see his leader sit patiently ahead of him. Itachi waited to be talked to. "Itachi-san, what brings you here?"

Itachi stepped forward, and bowed. "Leader-sama, Sakura was taken by Konoha."

The akatsuki leader looked amused. "Itachi-san, you seem to have grown quite close to Sakura-san." He stated.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "No matter what, I'm going to bring her back."

The leaders expression changed. His eyes narrowed. "So why are you wasting my time here?" Leader-sama asked.

"I believe it'll benefit us if we were to do this peacefully, and offer something to Konoha in return." Itachi said.

The leader thought for a moment. "And what would that be?"

"That the akatsuki is not to harm, or kill, the Kyuubi boy they care so deeply for. We'd have a semi-alliance with Konoha." Itachi suggested.

The akatsuki leader stood quiet, his eyes narrowed. "I see. We could still have the Kyuubi, just not harm, or kill, the boy." He paused. "Sakura-san is quite valuable to us, and I believe that a semi-alliance with Konoha would benefit us…Alright, Itachi-san, I will allow you to go to Konoha and get Sakura back."

Itachi bowed quickly and ran out. He was on his way to Konoha. He was on his way to get Sakura back.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Sakura slowly woke up on a cold stone floor, again. She was lying in her own blood. She began to cough hard, as her head began to pound, and she fell back into the pool of her own blood. She suddenly began to remember what happened. She knew what room she was in. She was in the Konoha interrogation room. They took all missing nins here to debrief them, and if they didn't speak, they'd make them wish they did. Sakura knew this was going to be a long day, or was it night? She wandered. Sakura remained in the fetal position. She was already in so much pain, and she missed Itachi. She hopped he was all right. Suddenly a bright light turned on. Sakura whined loudly in pain, as she turned her face to the ground to escape the light.

Someone walked into the room, leaving the door open. "Sakura-chan, nice to have you back in Konoha."

Sakura slowly looked up to her visitor. She smirked slightly. "Kakashi-sensei, I'm honored to be here on such terms." She said emotionlessly.

"I'm sure you know how this works Sakura…" Kakashi continued.

"Why am I being treated this way, Kakashi-sensei?" She started to play with his emotions. "I've been good, I've done everything for Konoha. I love Konoha. I haven't been able to find time to give you guy's information." She continued, trying to confuse Kakashi. "The akatsuki leader was suspicious of me, I had to lay low." She let fake tears glide down her cheeks.

Kakashi lazily walked over to Sakura and bent down in front of her. He just shook his head. _I didn't even see her…_ He thought as he held up a kunai to her throat. He whispered, "If you're going to run you need to run fast, because we're not letting you leave again." Suddenly he brought the kunai across her throat. She disappeared into a cloud of smoke. _I shouldn't have given her a head start. _He thought to himself.

Sakura had stealthy made her way through the village. It was dark, and silent. She knew it was going to be hard to leave, but she had to find Itachi. She silently jumped from roof to roof. She walked around a corner when suddenly Naruto appeared in front of her. He was growling, and his fists were clenched tightly.

"Sakura-chan." He began to shake with anger.

"Naruto…I…" Sakura was interrupted.

"Shut up!" He yelled at her, and she flinched slightly. "What are you doing? If you were innocent, you'd be in the interrogation room still."

Sakura looked down, "Naruto, please, you don't understand my past. I-I love Itachi." She became frustrated, and tears rolled down her cheeks. "It's my past Naruto, I remember it. I finally remember. I loved him then, and I love him now."

"Sakura-chan, I don't understand." Naruto said more calmly.

Sakura whipped away the tears. She began to say something but was interrupted.

"You wouldn't, Naruto." A new voice spoke.

They both turned to the person who had spoken. Naruto eyes widened, "Nezzumi, I thought you were sleeping."

Nezzumi ignored the comment, "You weren't there Naruto, but please trust me, it's not something you'd understand. She's being honest though."

Naruto looked from Nezzumi to Sakura. His fists loosened slightly. "How could you betray us, Sakura?"

"I didn't, Naruto. I'm just following my heart. I haven't done anything to betray anyone." Sakura replied.

"No," Naruto began, "You just left us."

Sakura looked down. "I didn't intend for things to work out this way, Naruto, but it did. Itachi isn't a bad guy, and neither am I."

"You're a missing nin now, Sakura. Itachi's a missing nin." Naruto stated.

"And so is Sasuke." Nezzumi added, "But you still believe in him. Naruto, I believe in Sakura and Itachi, as well as Sasuke, and you believe in me, so don't give up."

Naruto sighed. "You think I've given up?" His fists tightened, again. "I would never give up!" He paused for a moment. "I'm just confused. I just don't understand."

"Yet." Sakura stated. "I promise, Naruto, I'll explain everything another time, but now, I have to find Itachi." She began to walk past Naruto, but Naruto blocked her way.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, I can't let you do that. Now that we have you back, I'm not letting you leave." Naruto began to get into a fighting stance.

"Naruto, please. I have to leave." She said, trying to avoid another fight.

"Why?" Naruto pleaded.

"Because!" She yelled, "I love Itachi!"

"So, that's where your loyalties lie?" A new voice said from behind her. A kunai was pressed against Sakura's neck.

Sakura mentally kicked herself. She had let her guard down while she was talking to Naruto. Another tear rolled down her cheek. She nodded, before everything went black.

Naruto watched as Sakura had fell against the rooftop, unconsciously. Nezzumi walked over to Sakura and kneeled down. She pushed Sakura's hair out of her face. "Thanks for being gentile with her, Kakashi-sensei." Nezzumi whispered.

Naruto stood next to Kakashi-sensei. "What hurts more, the fact she's still Sakura-chan to us, or the fact she's a lying missing nin?"

Kakashi picked her up, and slung her over his shoulder. "The fact she lied." He said. It was silent for a moment. "I have to take her back to the interrogation room."

Naruto and Nezzumi nodded. Kakashi leapt from roof to roof, until he disappeared into the darkness.

Naruto looked down, "I don't understand."

Nezzumi looked up to him. "It's complicated."

Naruto looked at Nezzumi, "Why?"

"Well, I don't know." She sat down, and placed her head in her hands. "Its hard to understand."

"Tell me then. Tell me everything. I want to understand. I love Sakura, she's like my sister." Naruto said.

Nezzumi smiled slightly, "Let me tell you everything." Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand. "It all started…"

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Kakashi put Sakura on the stone ground. He clasped metal chains around her wrists. He couldn't believe that he had to do this to his former student. Sakura began to wake up, and she slowly opened her eyes. Kakashi looked into her eyes, and quickly looked away. He stood up. "I'm sorry I failed you, Sakura-chan." He began to walk out.

"Are we even?" She whispered.

Kakashi stopped. "What?"

"You lied to me, and I lied to you. Wouldn't that make us even?"

Kakashi walked back to her. "I've never lied to my students." He stated through clenched teeth.

"No," Sakura began, "You just don't tell the truth."

Kakashi looked confused.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Confused? That's too bad. Let me spell it out for you, I remember everything." She glared intensely at him. "I remember my past, and you knew. So, why are you so surprised that I love him. You already knew." Sakura said angrily.

Kakashi looked surprised. His fists tightened. "The Hokage will be in here soon to question you. Try to stay conscious."

Kakashi walked out, and slammed the door behind him. He met Tsunade in the hallway. She stood silently. "Kakashi, I just don't know what to say."

Kakashi was silent for a moment, "Neither did I."

Tsunade rubbed her temples, "How did this happen?"

Kakashi shook his head. He waited a moment, "She remembers her past."

Tsunade's eyes widened for a moment. "I see."

"She's sore about us not telling her, don't let it get to you. We did the right thing. Otherwise we might have had to deal with this years ago." Kakashi said truthfully.

"It seems like it was inevitable." Tsunade said with sadness in her voice.

Kakashi said nothing, and Tsunade walked past him and into the interrogation room. She saw Sakura chained to the wall. _How could it have gotten this bad?_ She thought to herself.

Sakura looked up to Tsunade, she looked right into her eyes. Tsunade wanted to look away very much, but refused. "Sakura."

"Tsunade-sama." The chains clanged against the wall, as Sakura shifted uncomfortably.

It stayed silent for a long time. Tsunade really didn't know what to say, or how to react. "Sakura, how could this happen?"

Again silence. Sakura just stared into Tsunade's eyes.

Tsunade finally spoke, "You are a _missing-nin, _don't you know what that means? Do you know what you sacrificed to get what you want?"

Sakura nodded. It was silent again. Tsunade was about to leave, when she was stopped. She still kept her back to Sakura.

"I never meant to betray my village. I never meant to betray anyone. I wanted to help my village and my people, and in my opinion I did. I gave you information, and you were always a step ahead of the akatsuki. I never gave the akatsuki any information about Konoha. I never betrayed anyone." Sakura said honestly.

Tsunade walked out the door to find Kakashi waiting in the hall. Tsunade looked at him, and then quickly looked away. She said nothing as she walked passed him. She looked very upset, and disappointed.

Tsunade walked into her office. She didn't even bother to turn on the lights as she sat behind her desk, and pulled out a bottle of sake. She poured some into a cup and drank it up. _I'm sorry I failed you, Sakura. _She poured some more into her cup, and drank it.

Suddenly a pair of sharingan eyes pierced through the darkness. They came closer to Tsunade.

"Uchiha Itachi." Tsunade said freely.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Nezzumi had just finished telling Naruto the whole story. Naruto slowly nodded. "It's a lot to take in." He paused, "But I finally understand."


	15. Chapter 14

_**Chapter fourteen**_

_**Catching Up**_

"I suppose you're here for Sakura?" Tsunade asked calmly.

Itachi stepped up to her desk. "I'm surprised you're not taking any measures, considering I'm in your office." He said honestly.

"Well," Tsunade began as she poured some more sake into her cup. "I figure, since you're in my office, you're not a threat. If you were out there, looking for Sakura, then I'd be taking measures."

"Hn." He seemed amused. "I have come for Sakura, but I also came to make an offer."

Tsunade crossed her hands over her mouth. "What would that be?"

"To never harm, nor kill, the boy who holds the Kyuubi. This will, of course, give us a small alliance. In return, of course, we want Sakura back." He stated.

The Hokage thought for a moment. "Lets say I were to say yes, the akatsuki are only to be able to enter the village if it's an emergency. Is that understood?"

"Understood." Itachi repeated.

Tsunade thought for a moment longer. "I will have an answer for you in two days. Until then I will allow you to stay in Sakura's old apartment. I will take you to visit her, in a moment." She paused, " While you're here, you're not to make any trouble."

"I understand." Itachi said clearly. He wanted to see Sakura so much.

"Alright. Lets go see Sakura." Tsunade walked out of her office, and was followed by Itachi.

They walked and finally arrived at the interrogation room. Tsunade stopped in front of the door Sakura was behind. "She's in there." Tsunade said, "She'll be happy to see you." He began to walk to the door, but was stopped. "Don't try anything, Itachi. We've got everyone in the village watching her."

Itachi nodded before he was let into the room. He saw Sakura chained to the wall and became enraged. He quickly made his way to her and held her. She was sleeping. He observed her body. She was covered in new and old, dry, blood. She was covered in ash, which made her skin look dark. She had bruises forming already. He held her tighter, and she let out a little moan. He could tell she was in pain. He kissed her forehead lightly, and Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't believe that Itachi was there.

"Itachi!" She whispered excitedly. She let a few tears escape her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

Itachi carefully whipped away her tears, and hugged her. "I'm getting you back. The akatsuki is making a semi-alliance with Konoha. We're agreeing not to harm, or kill, your blonde haired friend, in exchange to get you back."

Tsunade watched from the doorway. Suddenly Kakashi appeared. His expression was dull, but he trusted the Hokage. "He means no harm, Kakashi. Let him out when he is ready."

Kakashi nodded and the Hokage left. He watched as Itachi held Sakura. Then he shut the door softly and waited for Itachi.

Sakura leaned into Itachi, and fell back asleep. Itachi held her tightly. He was going to stay with her, and not leave her side.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The next morning, Tsunade quickly walked down the hallway to the interrogation room. Kakashi came into view. He leaned coolly against the wall, next to the door. "Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade stopped in front of him. "Is he still in there?"

"All night." Kakashi commented.

"Hmm." She said. She stormed into the interrogation room. Itachi was holing sakura. He opened his eyes when Tsunade came in. They stared at each other for a moment. Sakura woke up, and looked around. She was confused at the scene before her. She looked up to Itachi.

"Itachi-san, it's time for you to leave. You can go back to Sakura's apartment for now." She waited a moment before continuing. "Sakura is our prisoner. Do not forget that. She can not have any special treatments." Tsunade crossed her hands over her chest.

"No!" Sakura said in a panicked voice.

Itachi held Sakura tighter. "Hn."

Tsunade glared at Itachi. "You have five minutes." She quickly left, and closed the door behind her. She turned to Kakashi, "Make sure he comes out in five minutes. If he doesn't, contact me immediately."

Itachi kissed Sakura's forehead. "I'll be back tonight."

"No." Sakura pleaded, "Don't leave me."

"I'm not. I'll be back. I have to go, you know I do. You know, just as well as I do, how Konoha treats this kind of situation." He kissed her forehead. Itachi brought his lips over Sakura's, and hovered above hers for a moment. Sakura pushed her lips against Itachi's.

"I love you." Sakura whispered.

"I love you, Sakura." He kissed her forehead, before getting up to leave. He heard Sakura whine, but didn't look back. He couldn't see her hurt. He exited the door.

Kakashi lazily looked up at him. "Just in time, Itachi-san."

"Hn." Itachi stubbornly said as he walked past Itachi.

"Do you know where you're going?" Kakashi asked casually.

"I'll find my way." Itachi stated. He really did know where he was going. He didn't feel the need to prove anything to Kakashi. He walked out of the building. The sun was almost too much. He was so used to the Village of Rain, this weather was strange. Not a lot of people were out this morning. The wind blew slightly, and his akatsuki robe shifted. He kept thinking about Sakura. He was angered about the condition she was in. He was distracted with the thought of Sakura, he didn't notice a girl in front of him and ran into her. Itachi knew his guard was up, it was almost as if he was comfortable in her presence.

The girl turned around and sharingan eyes, met sharingan eyes. Both pairs of eyes widened.

"Itachi?" A smile formed on her face.

"Nezzumi…" Itachi replied, almost unsure of what to say.

He was suddenly hugged roughly. He felt a little uncomfortable, but welcomed it. He softly separated from her embrace. She had tears in her eyes, but wore a big smile. "Itachi, I knew you'd come for Sakura! I knew you'd come back." She paused. "I'm sorry. This must be shocking to you. To find out I'm not really dead." She looked down to her hands and played with them nervously.

Itachi's eyes narrowed, "I tried to kill you, why are you talking to me?" He said coldly, as he continued to walk past her.

The comment shocked Nezzumi for a moment. "I don't believe you did." She made him stop in place. She continued, "I _know_ the person that left me to die, wasn't you. Tell me, what happened. I know you know."

He turned around to face Nezzumi. "You don't know who I am. You're wrong."

"No," Her fists clenched, "I'm not wrong. I do know who you are. I don't need to be protected anymore, Itachi. If I did, I would've died all those years ago." They were both silent for a while. Nezzumi sighed, "Let's go catch up. Lets go get some ramen. On me!" She added.

Itachi hesitantly agreed. "Hn."

Nezzumi smiled big, as she dragged her brother along. They sat down at the bar and ordered some ramen. "So, Itachi, you're really hard to find. Ya know that? Sasuke is too." Itachi's eyes narrowed, at his brother's name. Nezzumi continued, "I began searching for you guys, ever since the day I was almost murdered. When I found Konoha, I decided to just wait until you found Sakura. I knew, eventually, you'd run into me." She paused for a moment, "I was wandering, though…um, why our clan?"

Itachi folded his hands in front of his face. He looked to Nezzumi. "You don't want to know."

"Please tell me, Itachi. You've protected me enough, I need to know!" Nezzumi looked down.

Itachi looked down at her for a moment, and sighed. "I found out father was the one behind your supposed death, and, as you know, he tried to frame me. I walked in on him as he killed Mother, and that's when I killed him. He had planned to kill Sasuke, he admitted to me before I killed him. He also told me the whole clan was in on it. He thought he was going to kill me that moment, but was wrong. I was stronger, and I guess that's why. He knew his children would surpass him easily. He knew Mother knew better." Itachi glared into the distance.

Nezzumi took a deep breath, "Father…?" She paused, "It makes sense, though. I knew it wasn't you though." Nezzumi looked to Itachi, "Itachi, if anything, you're like a hero. Why didn't you inform the Hokage at the time? This could've been avoided."

"It's not that simple. The Hokage believed Father over me. Hokage-sama wouldn't have ever believed me. Do you understand?" He sighed, "The only other person who knows about this is Sakura."

"I understand." Nezzumi looked down, "I just wish everyone knew the real story."

"They will know now." A new voice said from behind them.

The two Uchiha's turned around to find Naruto and Kakashi.

"Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Nezzumi asked confused.

"They've been following me." Itachi said calmly. "Making sure I didn't have a hidden agenda."

Nezzumi glared at Naruto and Kakashi. "Why? Is my word not good enough? I told you my brother has always been innocent."

"We had to make sure." Kakashi said.

"For your protection, and the protection of the village." Naruto added.

"Well, now you know." Nezzumi said angrily.

"Yes, we do. We're on our way to the Hokage now." Kakashi and Naruto left.

Nezzumi and Itachi went back to eating their ramen. "Are you living at the Uchiha compound by yourself now?" Itachi asked casually.

Nezzumi blushed, "Well, no. Um, I live with Naruto."

Itachi stopped as he brought noodles up to his mouth. "I see. I guess, I'm going to have to have a talk with him."

"Itachi!" Nezzumi whined.

Itachi smiled slightly. The bill was placed in front of them. Nezzumi went to pick it up, but Itachi was faster. He observed the bill, and placed money on the table. "What kind of brother would I be, if I let my little sister pay?" He asked in a monotone voice, as he got up. He ruffled Nezzumi's hair, before disappearing.

Nezzumi couldn't help but smile. _That's my brother. _She thought proudly to herself.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Naruto and Kakashi stood in front of Tsunade's desk. They had told her everything Itachi had said.

He eyes narrowed, "I see. I've always been suspicious, but never knew the real motive behind his actions." She paused, "Are you sure, this information is genuine?"

"Yes." Naruto said, right away.

"I believe so, Hokage-sama." Kakashi followed.

Tsunade believed if Kakashi was convinced then it was, in fact, the truth. "Alright, I've made my decision."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

It was dark now. Itachi had actually enjoyed Nezzumi's company earlier. He was missing Sakura too much now. He made his way to the interrogation room. No one was guarding her room. He continued on. Her door was lock. He made a few hand signs and opened the door. Sakura looked up. "Itachi!" She began to cry. Itachi ran to her and held her. "Itachi, I-I feel so weak. I cant, I cant even stay awake for long. I'm going crazy in here, it's so cold and wet and…"

Itachi kissed her. They slowly broke apart. "I'm here, Sakura. It's okay." He held her, as she cried into his chest. Itachi stroked her soft, pink hair. After a while, Itachi spoke again, "You know who I ran into today?"

Sakura shook her head, "Who?"

"Nezzumi. We caught up with everything. It seems that I'm going to have to pay your friend, Naruto, a visit."

Sakura giggled. "Aw, how cute. You don't have to worry about Naruto. He'll treat her right. He's a good person." She said weakly. "You know, Naruto's like my brother. He took care of me, when I didn't have my memories."

"Well, I'm glad you were protected while I wasn't here." Itachi said, with a little sadness in his voice.

"Itachi, don't leave me again." Sakura said, as she slipped in and out of consciousness.

"I wont." He said.

"Promise me."

"I promise." He said as Sakura went limp in his arms.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm really sorry for the long wait. I've been having some issues at home. Please enjoy!**

_**Chapter fifteen**_

_**Hanging Out**_

As soon as the sun rose the next day, Tsunade called Kakashi into her office.

"Bring me Uchiha Itachi."

Kakashi quickly left. He ran to the place he knew Itachi would be: the interrogation room. When he returned to Tsunade, Itachi was with him.

"Itachi-san, I have considered your proposal." She paused, "I would like you to know, that I have been told the truth about the massacre. I wish you would've told the previous Hokage of such an event, but it so happens you didn't." The hokage stood, "Since you are a missing nin, and apart of the akatsuki, you are only aloud in the village if there is an emergency. If you one day choose, to leave the akatsuki then you, and Sakura, are welcome in the village." She paused, "Itachi-san, I accept your proposal. The akatsuki and Konoha now have a semi-alliance." She turned to Kakashi, "Bring Sakura here."

"Yes, ma'am." Kakashi left.

Tsunade turned back to Itachi, "Remember our deal. You are not to harm Naruto."

"I know my part of the deal and intend to keep it." Itachi said truthfully.

"Good, later in the afternoon, I'll inform the village." It was silent for a moment, before Tsunade continued, "Take good care of Sakura."

Itachi nodded. Suddenly Kakashi came into the room, holding Sakura. He sat her down on her feet. Sakura began to run to Itachi, she tripped slightly, but kept running. She ran into his embrace. Itachi held her tightly. "I'm glad you accepted my proposal."

Tsunade grunted, "You should stay for the meeting later. I'd like you to be with me, when I announce the news to the village. I expect your leader to be here, as well. For now, Sakura get some rest."

Both Itachi and Sakura nodded. They both ran on the rooftops to Sakura's old apartment. They walked in. Sakura looked shocked. Everything was untouched, and, as a result, was dusty. Her mouth was slightly open. "It's been so long…"

"Hn." Itachi remarked. "Lets go lay down."

Suddenly a knock came at the door. Itachi and Sakura looked at one another, before Sakura answered the door. Nezzumi and Naruto were standing in the doorway. Naruto quickly hugged Sakura. "Sakura-chan!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He squeezed her so hard, she began to go blue. He stopped when he felt Itachi's glare. He laughed slightly, and rubbed the back of his neck.

Next, Sakura was hugged gently by Nezzumi. "Sakura, its so good to have you back."

"Its good to be back!" Sakura said with a smile. "Now that I remember everything, I feel complete. I've really missed you, Nezzumi."

She received another hug from Nezzumi, "That's so good to hear, Sakura. I've missed you so much! We have to spend some one on one time together."

"Yes! That sounds so great. We must do it today." Sakura paused, "At least until Tsunade-sama makes her announcement."

"Why today?" Naruto asked.

"Oh…Naruto, we have to leave the village tonight. We can only come back if it's an emergency." Sakura said with sadness.

Naruto looked as if he was just struck in the face. "B-But Sakura-chan, we just got you back!"

"I know. It's just how it is." Sakura stated sadly.

Naruto began to recall what Nezzumi told him, about Sakura's past. "I understand." He whispered.

"Good." Itachi said, "Perhaps you and I could spend the day together. I understand that you are fond of my sister…" He sent Naruto a look that could kill.

Naruto grew pale. Nezzumi nudged him. "Uh…yeah, sure, spend the day with you. Hehe."

"Good." Itachi said with a death look. "We'll meet back up before the announcement."

They all nodded. Sakura walked up to Nezzumi and Naruto, "Why don't you two go home for now, and we'll come by after I shower." She said, as she indicated to her dirty body.

Nezzumi giggled, "Good idea." Nezzumi and Naruto said, their goodbyes and left.

Sakura turned to Itachi excitedly, "I'm so excited!" She hugged Itachi, "Everything is finally going right."

Itachi smiled slightly. He thought she was cute when she got excited. "Yes, Sakura, everything is going right."

Sakura smirked, "Well," She whispered, "I guess I better go take a shower now."

Itachi raised an eye, "Oh?"

Sakura began to walk away, and looked back to him before entering the bathroom. Itachi quickly followed her, and closed the door behind them.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Nezzumi laid against Naruto's chest. They waited for Sakura and Itachi, the had been taking a while. Nezzumi looked up to Naruto, "I'm so excited. Aren't you?"

Naruto paused, "Oh yeah, you get to spend all the time with Sakura-chan and I have to spend time with your deadly brother." He pouted.

Nezzumi laughed inwardly. "He just wants to make sure I'm treated right, is all. He wouldn't hurt a fly." She smiled.

Naruto swallowed hard, "Yeah, a fly." He suddenly became confident, "Maybe I should be the one to make sure he's treating Sakura-chan right!"

Nezzumi giggled, "Well, that's why you two get to spend time together. You love me, he loves sakura, he loves me, you love Sakura, so you guys will have a very interesting talk. Don't get too carried away." She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

Suddenly a knock came at their door. Nezzumi quickly hopped up and ran to the door. She quickly opened the door to see Itachi and Sakura. Sakura and Nezzumi quickly embraced each other. As they broke apart, Itachi glided past them.

He towered over Naruto, "Lets go."

Naruto swallowed hard, but followed as Itachi walked to Sakura. He quickly kissed her before walking out the door. Naruto kissed Nezzumi, before continuing to following.

Nezzumi and Sakura both giggled at the expression that was on Naruto's face. He looked so scared. Sakura and Nezzumi sat down at the table in the middle of the kitchen.

"I'm sorry we took so long," she looked away and blushed slightly. "Itachi had to send a letter to Leader-sama." She half lied.

"No worries." She said. Nezzumi looked curious, "I wonder what they'll do today."

Sakura smiled, "I don't know. Hopefully they get along." Her expression changed. "I really want them to be friends."

Nezzumi sighed, "I hope so, too. I'd be so nice, we'd all get to hang out together. We have to stay in touch."

Sakura smiled, "Of course we will, we'll be friends forever!"

Nezzumi smiled as Sakura quoted her past words. "You really do remember everything."

Sakura nodded. "I really do, and I'm so happy I do. We can finally continue on with our lives."

"Yes…" Nezzumi looked down as she continued, "but you'll have to leave today."

Sakura leaned in closely and whispered to Nezzumi, "That doesn't mean we can't see each other."

Nezzumi's expression brightened, "It just means we have to do it without anyone knowing." They continued in unison.

They both laughed. Nezzumi exclaimed, "Its genius!"

Sakura nodded. "Nothing will come between us again." Sakura said calmly.

"What shall we do today?" Nezzumi asked.

Sakura thought for a moment, then smiled. "I'm thinking hot springs?"

Nezzumi smiled. "You read my mind."

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Itachi and Naruto glared at one another from across the table. They had decided to get something to eat. They both waited patiently for their food. Finally their food arrived. Neither of them touched their food, for they were engaged in a staring contest. Without looking away Itachi picked up his chopsticks. Naruto copied his move. Itachi finally spoke, "Naruto, you're being childish."

Naruto heated up, "What?! You started this!"

"Perhaps." Itachi said under his breath. He continued, "I understand you are interested in my sister."

Naruto folded his hands across his chest, "I very much am." He paused, "You realize that Sakura-chan is like my sister, as well." He paused again, as his eyes narrowed. "You seem to be very close to her."

Itachi folded his hands against his mouth, "I love her." He said. He put his arms down, "If you ever hurt my sister, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Naruto smirked, "I should say the same for you, Itachi-san."

"I'm glad we have an understanding, Naruto-san." Itachi said.

They both continued to glare at each other, and stayed silent for a long moment. Suddenly they both said in unison, "I intend to marry her."

Their expression both became shocked. Naruto was the first to speak, "I see, so you're more serious then I thought."

"As are you." Itachi stated. "I expect you to take care of my sister."

"You don't need to worry. I love her, more then anything. I wont let anything ever happen to her." Naruto dug his chopsticks into the ramen he ordered. He slurped the noodles, and swallowed.

Itachi thought it was weird how Naruto had sounded like him, but was convinced. "Hn."

"I expect you to take care of Sakura-chan, as well." Naruto said abruptly.

"I have every intention to." He stated seriously.

They both sat silently until they finished eating. Naruto was the first to break the silence, "I suppose this means we can be friends." He paused, "We'll be brothers after we both are married, after all."

Indeed Naruto was right, and Itachi knew it, but it was something Itachi would have to get used to. He got used to Deidara after a while, why not Naruto? "Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes!" Naruto said excitedly.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Nezzumi and Sakura calmly sat in the warm springs. "This is so refreshing!" Sakura exclaimed excitedly. "There's nothing like this in Rain County, and it's always so cold." She sank further down into the warm water.

Nezzumi smiled, "This is great. It's been too long. Never again."

They both smiled, knowing what she meant. "Yes," Sakura began, "Never again." They both smiled.

"So, how's Naruto been? I hope I haven't effected him by leaving." Sakura said sadly.

"Well," Nezzumi began, "Naturally he's been sad, but he focused his anger and sadness on finding you. It all worked out, though." She finished with a smile.

"I felt at home…" Sakura said, "When I was with the akatsuki. I think that's why I stayed." She paused, "Ever since I lost my memory, I felt like a piece of me was missing. When I met the akatsuki, and I was with Itachi, I felt complete."

"I see." Nezzumi smiled, "That's because it was Itachi. You guys were just meant to be."

Sakura smiled, "Yeah, we were."

They both stayed silent for a moment. "Is it time to meet up with Naruto and Itachi?" Sakura asked.

Nezzumi nodded, "I think it is."

Nezzumi and Sakura got up out of the hot spring and wrapped a towel around their wet bodies. They walked into the dressing room and changed into their cloths. Sakura put on her akatsuki robe. They both walked away from the hot springs and headed toward Nezzumi and Naruto's apartment. As they walked, a lot of people sent awkward looks toward Sakura. She maintained her cool through all the glares and gasps.

Nezzumi leaned in to Sakura, "Just ignore them."

"I deserve it." Sakura said sadly. "I'm normally used to it, but since this is Konoha, it has a deeper meaning."

Nezzumi saddened. She didn't want this for her friend. They finally arrived to the apartment. They walked in through the door. Itachi and Naruto were sitting at the table. They both looked up, when the girls walked in.

Nezzumi smiled, "I'm glad to see you two are still alive."

Upon further examination, Sakura added, "Not even a scratch." The two girls laughed.

Sakura walked to Itachi, and Nezzumi to Naruto. "It looks like you two had fun." Naruto said.

Nezzumi and Sakura looked at one another, and smiled. "We did." They said together.

"Just like old times." Itachi said without realizing.

"How did it go with you guys?" Sakura asked.

"It went well." Itachi said casually.

Nezzumi and Sakura smiled, "Great."

The sun was beginning to set, the sky was orange. Sakura walked over to the window. "I think it's time to go."

They all got up and walked to the door. When they opened the door, a man with orange hair, many piercing, and swirled eyes, was standing in their view. They all were surprised.

The man looked from Itachi and Sakura, "Itachi, Sakura." He acknowledged.

"Leader-sama," Sakura caught her breath, "We were just on our way." Sakura stated.

The akatsuki leader nodded, as Sakura and Itachi led the way. He followed behind them. This was the beginning of a new alliance.


	17. Chapter 16

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

_**Informing Konoha**_

Nezzumi and Naruto kept their distance from the akatsuki leader. They were uncomfortable in his presence. The akatsuki leader ignored them, as he followed behind Itachi and Sakura. Itachi and Sakura led the akatsuki leader to Tsunade's office. Sakura slowly knocked on the door.

A moment passed. "Come in." A voice said from the other side of the door.

Sakura opened the door and let everyone in. Tsunade was sitting at her desk. She noticed the leader of the akatsuki and stopped what she was doing. She studied the akatsuki leader. "So, you're the leader of the akatsuki?"

The leader studied her as well and nodded. "I am. My name is Pein."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "I am well aware of who you are, Pein-sama. You were a former student of Jiraiya-sama."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. _No way, _He thought to himself. Naruto clenched his fists. "You betrayed Jiraiya-sensei. You betrayed your own Sensei! Even after he had so much faith in you."

Pein walked over to Naruto and Nezzumi, acknowledging them for the first time. "So, you're the boy who holds the Kyuubi? How _interesting._" He said with a smirk on his face. Pein suddenly caught the sight of Nezzumi holding tightly onto Naruto. He observed her sharingan eyes and the resemblance to Itachi. He looked from Nezzumi to Itachi. "How interesting, indeed."

Itachi's expression didn't change. Instead Sakura stepped forward. She said in a stern voice, "Lets not get distracted now."

"Yes." The Hokage agreed.

The akatsuki leader turned his attention back to the hokage. "Yes." The was a long moment of silence, before he continued, "I am glad you have accepted our offer. I can see great things for Konoha and the Akatsuki." He said to the Hokage.

Tsunade nodded. Suddenly, everyone turned their attention to two figures sitting in the window. One of them was holding a massive sword and had blue skin, the other had blonde hair. They both had on akatsuki robes. Pein addressed them, "Kisame-san, Deidara-san, nice of you two to stop by."

"We wouldn't miss this meeting for anything." Kisame smiled, showing his teeth.

Tsunade closed her eyes for a moment, before reopening them. "It's time for the meeting."

The eight of them suddenly disappeared from Tsunade's office. They all reappeared on a giant stage in front of all the Konoha people. The crowd gasped in unison, as they all saw the akatsuki standing next to the Hokage. The hokage stood tall before her people. She waited for the people to calm down.

She drew in a deep breath before speaking, "I'm sure most of you have noticed the akatsuki in the village. You do not need to be alarmed." She waited for the reactions to die down before continuing. "You all were aware that someone really close to us all, someone rumored to surpass me in power, had become a missing nin. That person was Sakura. What you all were unaware of, is that we had taken capture of Sakura."

The crowd gasped, and chatter quickly began to rise. Sakura looked down when many people sent her glares, and made rude gestures to her.

Tsunade continued, "The leader of the akatsuki…" Tsunade began, and Pein stepped forward. "Has made a generous offer to never harm, or kill, Naruto, in exchange for Sakura. We now have a small alliance, but they are only allowed in the village if it's an emergency."

The people yelled angrily. Tsunade held her hand up to silence them. "We now have an alliance with the akatsuki. We must give them respect. They will be leaving tonight." She paused again. "There is a story which I must share with you all. Uchiha Itachi did not murder his clan in cold blood. The Uchiha clan leader had plans behind Nezzumi's supposed death, and, as you know, he tried to frame Itachi. He killed the mother of Itachi, and that's when Itachi killed him. The Uchiha Clan's leader had planned to kill Sasuke, he admitted to Itachi before he killed him. The leader also told Itachi the whole clan was in on it. He thought he was going to kill Itachi that moment, but was wrong. Itachi was stronger, and that's why the massacre happened. The Clan leader knew his children would surpass him easily. He knew their mother wouldn't go along with it."

The crowd stayed silent. They didn't know how to react exactly. They hated someone for so long, just to find out he was innocent. Maybe the same went for Sakura. Did they know the real story? Everyone stayed silent.

The Hokage waited a moment, before continuing. "The akatsuki will not harm us, and we will not harm them. You all are free to go."

Everyone hesitantly began to leave. They were all confused on how to feel. When the crowed finally cleared out, Tsunade turned to the akatsuki, and Nezzumi and Naruto. "That went well." She said half sarcastically.

Sakura stayed silent, but emotionless. She knew she couldn't say anything about Konoha in front of Pein. Itachi held her hand tightly. Pein turned to present akatsuki. He looked at them intensely. "I want you all to be back tomorrow morning. No later then sunrise."

They all nodded. Pein turned to Tsunade, "We'll keep in touch."

As Pein left he acknowledged Nezzumi and Naruto. Naruto just stared as he left.

Next Tsunade turned to the akatsuki. "You may spend the rest of the day in the village, if you wish." She eyed them all, before walking away.

Naruto noticed how all the akatsuki stood together. Their robes shifted in the wind. His gaze focused on Sakura. _She should be standing next to us, _He thought, as he suddenly looked away. He quickly shoved away his thoughts as he remembered the story Nezzumi told him. True, he believed that Sakura belonged with Itachi, but not the akatsuki. Suddenly a picture of the four of them, standing next to each other in informal cloths, flashed through his mind. He smiled slightly before dismissing the image.

Nezzumi tugged at Naruto's hand. Naruto looked to Nezzumi, and smiled. Nezzumi dragged Naruto over to Sakura. Sakura smiled at them. "Deidara, Kisame, I'd like to _formally _meet Naruto and Nezzumi."

Kisame grunted without care. Deidara smiled slightly. "I'm Deidara, yeah, and this is Kisame. Sorry about all those time we tried to kill you." He said apologetically.

"I'm not." Kisame said under his breath, so only Deidara and Itachi heard him. Itachi smirked slightly.

Deidara and Kisame examined Nezzumi. "Interesting, yeah." Deidara commented.

"Hn." Itachi replied.

"So this is your sister, Itachi?" Kisame said smirking. "I don't recall you mentioning her before."

"Hn." Itachi said.

"Strange how Sakura-chan, and Nezzumi-san are best friends and your sisters dating the Kyuubi…" Sakura sent him an intense glare. "Er…I mean Naruto-san, and you're dating his sister." Deidara noted.

Itachi closed his eyes. "I don't find it strange." He said as he slowly opened his eyes. Sakura leaned against Itachi, and smiled.

Naruto smiled as well. It was almost as if Itachi had cared. "I don't find it strange at all." He added.

It stayed quiet for a moment before they all picked up a new chakra signature. They all looked to their left. Kakashi stood there, he laughed nervously. "Why don't we all go out for sake? On me."

All their faces lit up. Kisame's the most. They all followed behind Kakashi. Kakashi entered into a restaurant. They all followed closely behind. Immediately they were seated, and Kakashi ordered the sake. When the sake arrived, Sakura passed out the cups and began to pour for everyone. When all the cups were full, Sakura thanked Kakashi.

It stayed awkwardly silent for a while. Finally, after many rounds of sake, Kisame was the first to break the silence. "Oi, Pinky?"

Sakura looked to Kisame, "Hmm?" She asked before drinking from her cup.

"How many more rounds, before your friends start talking?" He grinned widely.

Sakura began to pour more in everyone's cup. She smiled, "Soon enough, Sharkface."

"I'm not feeling it at all!" Naruto slurred.

Everyone laughed. "Yeah, and I don't read _Icha Icha._" Kakashi joked.

Nezzumi clung onto Naruto. "It's okay Naruto. I feel it too." She added drunkenly.

Itachi looked slightly amused. Sakura leaned into him. "Itachi never gets drunk!" Sakura shouted, "Well he never looks it anyway. No matter what, he's always still aware of everything as if he wasn't drunk." She slurred.

"You speak so highly of Itachi-san, Sakura." Kakashi said.

"Annoying, yeah." Deidara added stubbornly.

They all began to talk with one another. Sakura was very pleased. They all were getting along, even Itachi made an effort.

Suddenly both Naruto and Itachi got up, leaving both Nezzumi and Sakura on the end of the seat. Sakura noticed neither of them looked surprised that they got up at the same time and concluded that it was planned. Both Naruto and Itachi looked at one another, and nodded. They both kneeled down at the same time; Itachi in front of Sakura and Naruto in front of Nezzumi.

"Sakura…" Itachi began.

"Nezzumi…" Naruto began.

"Will you marry me?" They asked in unison.

The two girls looked from one another in disbelief. "Yes!" The two girls both shout together, before roughly hugging the man before them.

"It's about time." Everyone remaining at the table said together. They all looked from one another, and laughed slightly.

"When?" Nezzumi asked.

Naruto and Itachi looked from one another then back to their fiancé's. "Tonight." They said together.

Sakura hugged Itachi even tighter. "I love you."

Itachi returned the hug. "I love you Sakura."

"Itachi and I decided that you two would want to be married together." He turned to Sakura, "We know how much you love Konoha, and we thought that you'd like to be married here." He paused for a moment, "Well, just out side the gate anyway."

Both girls had tears of happiness in their eyes. They both clung tighter onto Naruto and Itachi. They would be married by sunrise.

"Its almost time." Itachi said.

"We wanted to be married by sunset." Naruto added. "That way you guys can get back before sunrise."

"Sounds good." Sakura said excitedly. "And of course you all are invited, just keep it a secret."

"We should go now. The priest is meeting us in the spot soon." Naruto said.

Itachi nodded in agreement. They all got up and made their way out of the restaurant.


	18. Chapter 17

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

_**Husband and Wife**_

Nezzumi and sakura were both wearing long, elegant, white kimonos. The each stood next to their soon to be husbands. Naruto and Nezzumi stood on the left, and Itachi and Sakura stood on the right. A priest stood in front of them. Behind them stood a small group of people: Kakashi, Deidara, and Kisame. It was obvious both Sakura and Nezzumi were glowing with happiness. Naruto and Itachi were wearing big smiles on their face.

The sun just began to set. The priest looked to Naruto. "Naruto do you take Nezzumi to be your wife?"

Naruto smiled, "I do."

The priest turned to Nezzumi, "And Nezzumi, do you take Naruto to be your husband?"

"I do." Nezzumi returned the smile.

The priest then turned to Itachi. "Do you Itachi take Sakura to be your wife?"

Itachi smiled, as he looked sakura in the eyes, "I do." He said softly.

The priest turned to Sakura, "And do you Sakura, take Itachi as your husband?"

Sakura's eyes sparkled, "I do."

Itachi and Naruto both pulled out a diamond ring, and placed it on their bride's finger. The priest looked to the two couples. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You two may now kiss the bride."

The sun was fully set now. Itachi quickly went to kiss Sakura. Naruto kissed Nezzumi softly. The small crowd cheered before them. The two couple slowly broke apart. The two girls blushed slightly. The crowd walked up to the two married couples. Itachi and Sakura put on their akatsuki robes.

"It's about time you two got hitched." Kisame said with a hearty laugh.

Kakashi looked at Sakura and Nezzumi. "Sakura, Nezzumi, you two look beautiful."

"Sakura-chan, you look gorgeous, yeah." Deidara dared to say. He whipped the smile off his face when he felt Itachi's glare. Sakura giggled.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Little did anyone know, another unknown guest hid in the darkness of the trees. Sharingan eyes observed the event that had happened. His eyes narrowed intensely. He felt so much hate at this moment. How could he be betrayed like this? He shifted in the tree. It was at that moment he knew he had no more family, and no more friends. He knew how he was going to revenge his clan, and sister. He wanted to hurt them all, and he already knew how. He stood tall in the tree, and turned away. He would let them have their happiness for now, but when they least expected it, there would be nothing to be happy about. He left the scene before him.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Itachi stopped what he was doing suddenly. He looked into the direction of a new chakra signature. He glared into the darkness. It seemed all too familiar of a chakra signature. His eyes narrowed with hate. Sakura noticed and looked up to him. "Itachi…?"

"It's nothing." He said as he felt the chakra signature move away from them.

Sakura kissed him on the lips. He looked to her and smiled. She always had a way to make things better. He kissed her on the lips, and held her close to him.

The moon hung brightly in the night sky. Sakura looked up to the moon, and sighed. It was getting too late. The sun would rise in a few hours. She noticed Itachi observing her.

"It's time to go." He said.

Sakura frowned. "I know."

Nezzumi walked up to her, and they hugged each other. "Remember, we'll see each other real soon." Nezzumi whispered.

Sakura smiled. "Defiantly. We'll keep in touch."

They broke apart, and Naruto roughly hugged Sakura. "Sakura-chan! I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Don't worry Naruto, we'll see each other again, soon enough." Sakura and Nezzumi smiled at one another.

Naruto looked from his new wife to Sakura. "Huh?"

"Don't worry about it, Naruto." Itachi stepped in.

Naruto smiled. "Alright, _older brother._"

Itachi surprisingly smiled slightly, for a moment. "Hn."

Kakashi walked up to Sakura, and gave her a quick hug. "Sakura-chan, you've grown up so fast. You're so strong now, stronger then most of us here. Just as strong as Itachi. You begin to think you're weak, and that's your downfall. Everyone has a weakness. That's yours. Don't forget that."

"I wont, Kakashi-sansei." She smiled and quickly gave Kakashi another hug.

The akatsuki stood in a group ready to leave. Naruto held Nezzumi closely, and Kakashi stood next to him. They all said their goodbyes, and the akatsuki left.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Itachi and Sakura ran holding hands. The four of them arrived at the complex, just before the sun began to rise.

Pein was waiting for them in the living room. "Good, you are all back on time." Pein looked at Itachi and Sakura. He noticed the small silver colored ring on Sakura's hand. His eyes stayed emotionless. "I have a mission for you all. Kisame and Deidara, you'll leave now. Itachi, Sakura I'll allow you two to leave tomorrow night. You'll meet up with them, when you get there."

They all nodded, and Pein left them all alone. Itachi quickly picked Sakura up, and began to walk to their room.

"Have fun, yeah." Deidara said before leaving on the mission. Kisame sent them a wide smirk, before following Deidara.

Sakura blushed slightly, as she leaned comfortably into Itachi's chest. Itachi just sent the two akatsuki members a glare, before continuing to their room. Itachi carefully sat Sakura on the bed, and laid next to her. He grabbed the hand she wore his ring on, and held it eye level in front of them. "As long as you're wearing this ring," He began, "We'll always be connected."

Sakura smiled big. She observed the white gold, diamond ring upon her finger. Her smile widened. "I love you, Itachi." She began to kiss him softly on the lips.

Itachi slowly parted from Sakura's lips. "I love you, Uchiha Sakura." They both smiled wide, before Itachi continued to kiss Sakura. Sakura started to play with the zipper on his akatsuki robe, until Itachi grabbed her hand and had her unzip it. They broke apart long enough for Sakura to unzip her own cloak, then quickly started kissing again. They both began to breath harder, as they fought over each others tongue. They each wanted more, and didn't resist.


	19. Chapter 18

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

_**Discovery**_

Sakura awoke early the next morning. She looked at the pile of cloths on the floor, and picked up one of Itachi's shirts. She stood up and put Itachi's shirt on over her naked body. She looked to Itachi and noticed he was actually sleeping peacefully. She smiled. She knew she was so in love. She sat down at the desk and began to jot down some medical notes.

Hours later, Itachi slowly woke up. He noticed sakura quickly writing stuff down. She was concentrating hard. She didn't even notice as he walked over to her. He hugged her from behind, and kissed her softly on the cheek. "What are you doing?"

Sakura waited a moment before she stopped writing. She kissed Itachi. When they broke apart. She was breathing hard, and her eyes were wide. She was excited, and Itachi could feel the adrenaline. "I-I think I found a way to extract the Kyuubi, from Naruto, without killing him." She said without any breath.


	20. Authors Note

_**Authors Note**_

Thank You Everyone! For making my first fanfic happen. I should let you know that during the time I've been posting this story, I've been working on the sequel, Faded Memories, Never Forgotten 2**. **I'll start to post that soon. So, yes there'll be a sequel, and I already have plans for a third. Again, thank you all. I hope you enjoyed my fanfic, and are looking forward to the next one.

**Poll: Post the sequel or no?**

**Cast your vote in a review!**

**P.S. Please review, and let me know how I can make my writing, and the sequel, better. Thank you.**

-_**Gothic Raven**_


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